Distorted Truths and Plain Lies

At the beginning of the US Presidential campaign, I had a lot of respect for John McCain and I even thought that he might be a good President if he were to be elected. As the campaign has progressed, I've been closely watching the debates, interviews and campaign rallies by both the McCain campaign and the Obama campaign, and I find it unbelievable how many lies and distortions have been coming out of the McCain camp recently.

Last week the topic of discussion was the smear campaign with Obama being called a Muslim, being associated with "terrorists", etc. This week it's all about Obama being a "Socialist". In Sarah Palin's rally speeches, she talks about how Obama is going to "spread your hard earned money around". Meanwhile, I can guarantee you that much more than 90% of the people she is speaking to make less than $250,000 and will actually receive a tax break under Obama's tax plan. I don't understand why people actually believe that Obama is going to raise taxes for hard-working families and give that money to people who don't work.

News Anchor Barbara West quoted Karl Marx in an interview with Joe Biden and asked Biden "How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?" She also asked Biden "What do you say to the people who are concerned that Barack Obama will want to turn America into a Socialist country much like Sweden?"

I don't even know where to start with these questions. A component of the philosophy of Marxism is to eliminate the classes so everybody is in an equal, single class. I can't see how Obama's plan to cut taxes on people making less than $250,000 a year has anything to do with Marxism. I also can't understand why the reporter used Sweden as an example of a "Socialist country". Sweden is definitely a capitalist country; maybe she referred to Sweden on the basis that Swedes receive free universal health care. Sweden is very similar to Canada in that sense, and it also enjoys a high ranking on the best countries in the world to live year-after-year.

John McCain and Sarah Palin have both talked exhaustively about "Joe the Plumber" and how Obama is going to take away Joe the Plumber's wealth. I find it quite ironic that Joe Wurzelbacher (Joe the Plumber) only makes $40,000 a year and will actually benefit from Obama's tax plan. It's obvious that Wurzelbacher is milking his 15 minutes of fame for everything it's worth since he recently announced that he is thinking about running for Congress in 2010 and even started the website joewurzelbacher2010.com

It was also very painful to watch Rudy Giuliani tell Wolfe Blitzer that he believes Sarah Palin is more qualified than Barack Obama. Wolfe Blitzer asked "So you're totally comfortable with Sarah Palin potentially being a heartbeat away from being Commander-in-Chief?” Giuliani responded "I'm totally comfortable with her being a heartbeat away, and what I would suggest is; if I were talking to Powell and we were having like a, friend to friend discussion about this I'd say well, you know, you find deficiencies with the experience of the Vice President Candidate. The President candidate that you're supporting has even less experience than she does."

Whenever I listen to any accusation from either the Republicans or Democrats, I always check the authenticity of that accusation, and more often than not, the Republican accusations have been distorted truths and sometimes plain lies. Most of these accusations come from the Palin speeches. It looks like the Karl Roves of the world have Palin all wrapped up in the dirty world of the dirty-style Republican Politics.

5 Reasons to Hate Low Gas Prices

Han's parents arrived on Thursday from China for a 3-week visit, so this weekend I was driving a lot to show them around. People normally complain about high gas prices, but I love it when gas prices are high. Sure, I might pay more for food and to fill my car, but the benefits of high gas prices far exceed the inconvenience to me.

Here are my top 5 reasons why I don't like low gas prices:

5) As a commodity exporter, Canada's economy is more prosperous with high oil prices.
4) Along the same lines as point #1, the Canadian dollar is weakened by low oil prices
3) Low gas prices are usually a sign of a declining economy
2) The Big Oil companies have less to invest in alternative fuels.
1) People typically cut down on how much they drive when prices are high which helps to reduce the negative impact on the environment

You may be surprised to see #2 in my list, but as much as I despise the big oil companies, it's true that the more profitable they are, the more they will invest in researching alternative energy. Have you seen Chevron's "willyoujoinus.com" campaign. It reads "I will leave the car at home more", "I will carpool to work", "I will take my golf clubs out of the trunk". It also shows a counter that shows the number of barrels of oil consumed globally during your site visit.

I always question people's and corporation's intentions. Do I really believe that Chevron cares about the environment? Not if it will adversely affect their profit. I'm sure there are individuals within the company that care about the environment, but as a corporation shareholder growth is their number one concern. BUT, the very fact that they have this website shows that many of their customers do care about the environment (Or perhaps many of them care more about becoming dependent from "Middle East Oil"). In either case, the solution is still the same: consumers need to reduce their consumption, and corporations need to research other options.

If there wasn't a positive environmental movement out there, we wouldn't see the corporations emphasizing their concern for the environment. At the same time, having a website that shows that you care about the environment doesn't mean anything unless your actions follow suit. So on that note, I'll be keeping an eye on the oil companies to see if they put their money where their mouth (or website) is. In the meantime, low gas prices are a result of a drastically reduced demand for oil, so overall maybe it's not such a bad thing for the environment after all.

Colin Powell confronts GOP Smear Campaign

Finally, a high profile Republican has acknowledged the negativity and absurdity of the smear campaign against Barack Obama by the Republican Party on behalf of John McCain. Watch this interview with Colin Powell and listen to his words; it makes so much sense. Powell defends McCain as a good man, but denounces the negative direction McCain's campaign and Republicans have taken recently.

In Powell's interview, he says: "And I've also been disappointed frankly by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently or his campaign has; on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed up terrorist. But then why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robo calls going on around the country trying to suggest that because of this very very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers somehow Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate. Now I understand what politics is all about, I know how you can go after one another; and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governer Palin has indicated an even further rightward shift."

Here is the line that I am really proud of Powell for saying: "I'm also troubled by not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said. Such things as well you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim. Well the correct answer is that he's not a Muslim, he's a Christian, he's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country. The answer is no, that's not America."

Even FOX News' Chris Wallace brought John McCain on the show and questioned McCain's use of Robo Calls to smear Obama. In the Robo Call, the recording says: "You need ot know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home, and killed Americans."

You know something isn't right when FOX News is questioning the validity of such a bold claim as an attempt to smear Obama. Thanks FOX News and Colin Powell for calling out the Republican smear campaign and for standing up against the racism against Muslims that is infecting America.

The New American Dream

In an October 3rd article, I was challenged by an Urban Country occasional reader and friend Kam on my definition of freedom. Kam wanted to know how I think people can achieve what I'll call the "New American Dream". To recap that article in a nutshell, the "New American Dream" is freedom from the banks, freedom from the oil companies, freedom from your car, and freedom to breathe fresh air and enjoy the earth as it was intended to be enjoyed. After I coined the term "The New American Dream" just now, I looked it up and saw that someone else already took this idea, and it's actually along the same premise as mine, with the central theme "Living within your means".

The core principles my definition of freedom is to live a life where you aren't constantly wanting more, downsize and simplify your life, consume only what you need and indulge occasionally, be conscious of the consequences of every decision you make, and set a good example for our youth. If you live by these general rules, you will be one step closer to achieving my definition of freedom.

Now to address Kam's 2 specific questions. First he asked "What are the ways we can avoid being affected by fluctuating fuel prices, when most of the very food we eat is delivered to us in ways we cannot control?" Firstly I'd like to point out that transportation costs are only one part of the overall cost of food, and rising fuel prices will certainly impact food that has travelled halfway around the world more than relatively "local" foods. So even if the cost of fuel were to double tomorrow, your grocery bill won't double, though it will most likely go up. So we need to be more conscious about where our food comes from in order to minimize the impact. Secondly, when you look at an average family's budget, food is a relatively small item proportionate to our other expenses, so an increase in food prices typically don't have a major impact on a family budget. When I think of rising fuel prices, I think heating/cooling people's homes and filling the tank in their car will have a more drastic impact on the budget than food. Thirdly, in the worst of times, we could change our eating habits. A 60 cent can of brown beans can be a pretty healthy (and cheap) alternative to a $10 Strip loin.

His second question was "What in your opinion are the realistic alternatives to a stock portfolio, when it comes to saving for retirement or education?" I think a better option for retirement would be collecting random items your entire life, then when you retire, sell those items on eBay. I think that would be a fun retirement job and those items would surely be worth something by the time you retire. In seriousness though, I think investments need to be balanced, and people should be investing for the long term. When the markets started to tank, I didn't go look at my Mutual funds statement to see how much "money I lost" (I still haven't looked at my statements). I'm investing for the long term, and the money I have invested is only worth something when I'm ready to cash it in. If people are investing in the stock market on a day-to-day basis, then those are people who are essentially gambling, and I'm not going to feel sorry for them when they lose money just like I don't feel sorry for myself if I lose money at a casino. Now, the corporate greed that has led to the imploding of several banks in the US, that is something that I think shouldn't be allowed, and I think more regulation is needed to avoid this (Crap, do I sound like John McCain??). Canada has so far set a good example for the world about how banks can prosper under tight regulation and not be as susceptible to the risks that Wall street firms have encountered. I think the executives who cashed out right before their banks crashed should be accountable and I strongly disagree with the bailout package that has saved the companies that created the problem in the first place because it will drastically increase the federal deficit and/or cause inflation all while making taxpayers pay for greedy corporations addiction to gambling.

Now, back to my point about a "balanced investment". I think people shouldn't rely exclusively on their stock market investments or mutual funds for their retirement, since the stock market can be inflated since its value is based on the confidence of other investors who trade on a day-to-day basis. People can balance out their portfolios by investing in safe bonds, real estate, gold, etc. One of the best retirement packages I've seen is when people who bought up one or two houses near a college and rented them out to students. Sure, it's a bit of work to manage, but it's a pretty safe investment for the long-term. Of course, try not to buy when the market is at a high, but even if the value goes down, don't forget that you're in it for the long-term, so a short-term decrease in value doesn't mean it won't gain its value back in 5-10 years. Warren Buffet, in this recent NYT Op-Ed, says ”Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”. Buffet thinks it’s a good time to buy, so it’s all part of the great game of investor confidence.

I think if people live within their means and don't strive for "all things bigger", then an economic downturn will certainly have less of an impact on them. To me, reducing the size of our houses, our cars, our food and our waste is the simplest approach to achieving my definition of freedom and we can all do it by eliminating things in our life that only serve to harm either the earth and our wallets.

Obama Smear Campaign

Every day I'm shocked at the revelations of smear campaigns against Barack Obama that have been circulating for the last year and a half. I've been a proud supporter Obama's bid for President since November 2007, and I have been paying careful attention to the lies and distortions that have been happening for a long time now.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the whole smear campaign for me is the fact that PEOPLE ACTUALLY BELIEVE THOSE E-MAILS that they read about Obama; that he's a Muslim, or he was sworn into office with his hand on the Quaran, or that he will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance or show any reverence for the flag, or that he "pals around with terrorists".

I know this first-hand because I receive these forwarded e-mails on a regular basis from people who believe e-mails without actually doing a simple Google search to confirm whether an e-mail is actually fact or not.

The latest of such campaigns originates on an actual Republican Party website. They posted an advertisement stating that the only difference between Obama and Osama bin Laden is "BS", with text below saying: "WATERBOARD BARACK OBAMA" (Waterboarding is a torture technique used by the Bush Administration on terror suspects). I won't give these ignoramus imbeciles the satisfaction of posting the actual picture here. After all, they can't be the most intelligent people; they spelled Sarah Palin as "Sara Palin" and directly below they spelled the word "Vice President" as "Vice Presdent" on this page.

Thankfully there are good people in the media who are quick to debunk all the myths surrounding Obama; check out Campbell Brown's commentary entitled "So what if Obama were a Muslim or an Arab?". I'd also like to praise John McCain for showing Obama respect while his supporters were yelling out that Obama is a "terrorist" and "kill him", and he's even had to tone down his own partner Sarah Palin's utter disrespect and contempt for Obama ever since her opening stump speech at the Republican National Convention.

It's sad that I'm even having to write this article. It's sad that after 17 months of campaigning, mainstream news agencies still need to remind readers that Barack Obama is not in fact a Muslim. It's sad that being a Muslim in the US would even have a negative connotation to people. Grow up people.

Rural Leader in an Urban Country

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has perhaps not surprisingly been re-elected as Prime Minister in a $300 million election that really didn't change anything. We still have a minority government, we still have the same leader; the only outcome that will change as a result is that the Liberal Party will rid themselves of Stephane Dion as their leader.

Dion had a bold environmental plan, but with his heavy French accent he wasn't very well understood outside of Quebec; people questioned whether he had a strong enough personality to be a world leader, and remnants of corruption were left over from the Liberals previously in power. I think Dion's plan was at least a good start to set Canada in the right direction and set an example to be a world leader on preventing climate change.

Jack Layton made some solid gains in the election; on track to win 37 seats compared to the 29 he achieved in the 2006 election. He's already known for his strong position on environmental concerns, and he's seen as a potential strong leader so don't count him out of the race to be a Prime Minister sometime in the next 10 years.

Now we're back to where we started; we essentially have a rural-friendly Prime Minister in an urban country, who promotes environmental inaction, has contempt for the arts, and employs a strategy of political appeasement. Stephen Harper will have his hands full in the next 2 years to get Canada through the banking fiasco as-of-late that we are somewhat shielded from for the time being; but don't kid yourself into thinking that Canada won't be affected because it will hit this country very hard in the next 2 or 3 months.

MacLeans magazine ran a comical article in August claiming Calgary as Canada's "Most Cultured City". Their definition of the most cultured city is the "Percentage of households who spend money to attend museums and to attend the live performing arts". Despite Harper's contemptuous claim that arts are a "niche issue", Harper still managed to gain every single seat in the province that is home of the most "cultured city" of arts. Anybody who has been to Calgary can tell you that there are at least 5 cities in Canada that are more "cultured" and "artsy" than Calgary by most standards. If anything, the city that spends most on museums and art is more likely a reflection of wealth than anything else. Victoria, BC, a hot spot for the wealthy to retire came in second place for being the "Most Cultured city" if that is any indication.

Here is an interesting interactive map that shows you just how Conservative Southern Ontario really is. In the middle you will see the biggest city in Canada: Toronto, in which the Conservatives interestingly gained 0 seats. Surrounding Toronto you can see the overwhelming support for the Conservatives.

I guess we'll have to wait for the next election for any real change to happen with respect to the environment.

The city that saved Mark Wahlberg

I was talking yesterday with my super-awesome cousin Jessica about how I like Mark Wahlberg (as an actor) ever since he played the role of "Tommy Corn" in I Heart Huckabees (2004). Wahlberg's character Tommy Corn was a Fireman and environmentalist who rides his bike everywhere because he can't bring himself to consume petroleum and support the greedy corporations while ruining the environment. In the movie, he compares using Petroleum to murder (See video clip below).

Cousin Jessica informed me that Wahlburg had purchased a ticket to fly from his hometown Boston to Los Angeles on the morning of Thursday, September 11th, 2001 on United Flight 93. His plans changed at the last minute when he decided on September 10th to go to Toronto to attend some Toronto International Film Festival parties before flying to Los Angeles directly from Toronto instead of via Boston.

After a night of partying in Toronto, he was woken up on the morning of September 11th (He said it was very hard to get up that morning), and he was told about the hijackings that took place that day (See the Toronto Star article). He claims that he was haunted for some time after September 11th.

Wahlberg said in an interview in 2004 that the character he portrayed in I Heart Huckabees was 80% himself. Wahlberg had a tough childhood; when he was 16 he was charged with attempted murder after beating up some people while he was on drugs. Having a near-death experience such as his experience on September 11th probably helped him look at life differently. I wonder if he would have even taken the role in I Heart Huckabees had he not purchased the ticket for United Flight 93?

Here's a clip of Wahlberg in I Heart Huckabees:

McCain: "That One"

The highlight of tonight's Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama was definitely when McCain pointed at Obama and said "That One", in reference to Obama voting for the 2005 enegy bill (See video below). I think it would have been far more acceptable to say "that one" if McCain subsequently referred to himself as "this one", but he unfortunately chose to refer to himself as "me" instead.

After tonight's debate I think we're going to see the polls continue to favour Obama. Obama handled himself much better while McCain performed much more poorly than he was expected to. Obama was much more clear and articulate about his position and plan, and McCain will lose support for calling health care a "responsibility", while Obama called it a "right".

Unfortunately McCain will probably step up the attack ads even more and the last 3 weeks of the race are going to be dirty politics. I hope Obama stays above the dirty-style politics that both McCain and Palin have resorted to.

I didn't appreciate too much the fact that Obama lowered himself to retaliation attacks on McCain by bringing up McCains history with the "Keating 5". But at least he's bringing up a fact and not resorting to the "guilt by association" picture that McCain and Palin have been placing on Obama with respect to Bill Ayers.

Barack bin Hussein Osama

This morning when I was out for a run, I was wondering to myself why so many people refer to Barack Obama as "Hussein" (his middle name). I can only assume that people choose to call him Hussein because they see him as a Muslim and calling him Hussein makes him sound like more of a Muslim.

I was reading a MacLean's article where they interviewed a voter in Ohio who said that Obama couldn't be trusted solely because of his middle name. She said it really bothers her. As ridiculous as that may sound to an "Urban Canadian Elitist" like myself, it's apparently par for the course down south.

Just when I thought people couldn't be more offensive about a man who loves his country as much as anyone else, I heard about the remark Sarah Palin made about Obama yesterday: "We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

Such a ludicrous claim can only be a sign of desperation for McCain and Palin. The claim was in reference to Obama's association with Bill Ayers, a Professor of Education at the University of Illinois in Chicago. In the 1960's, Ayers was involved with domestic militancy while he headed up the "Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)" in 1968 and 1969 (Obama was born in 1961). The group was responsible for detonating bombs in the United States before Ayers went underground in the 1970's, turning himself in in 1980.

To claim that Obama is pals with a terrorist who would target their own country is very sad. This is the lowest form of politics that exist. It's Bill O'Reilly style dumbing down and twisting facts. Even FOX News wouldn't claim that Obama is friends with terrorists, other than covering the Palin story.

Do people actually hear these kinds of comments and believe them outright without looking into the facts? It would be very easy for Obama to twist facts about Sarah Palin or John McCain to achieve political gains. Why is it that you think Obama doesn't do that? It's simple: some people twist facts (WMD, Al Qaida) to achieve political gains (Iraq war) in order to secure some sort of end goal (Oil, Middle East influence). And others simply make sound choices based on facts and doing the right thing.

Who would you want running your country for the next 4 years?

Here's a fun SNL clip for the VP debate where they poke fun at Biden and Palin:

Redefining Freedom

I spent tonight with my work friends watching the American VP debate as well as the Canadian Prime Minister debate. Both were interesting in their own way, but the Prime Minister debate was much more interesting simply on the basis that there were 5 people debating at a roundtable, and they were actually talking face-to-face instead of simply just providing an answer then moving on to the next question (Meaning it was an actual debate).

When I hear someone (Sarah Palin) talking about freedom, I always ask myself what I consider freedom to be. I know that my definition of freedom contrasts that of many others. I feel some people see freedom as the freedom to arm themselves, or the freedom to live in their dream-home, or the freedom to drive a big SUV, or the freedom to buy consumer goods.

I truly consider myself an extremely lucky person. First of all I'm lucky to be born where I was born, I'm lucky to come from a great family with good values, I'm lucky to have the freedom to make choices that I feel are for the better of the world, and I'm extremely fortunate not to be tempted to make choices that will corrupt me.

Freedom, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is:

free•dom (frē'dəm) Pronunciation Key

1. The condition of being free of restraints.


2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.


3. 1. Political independence.
   
   
   2. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly.
   
   
   3. The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
   
   
   4. The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city.
   
   
4. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want.


5. The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon.


6. Ease or facility of movement: loose sports clothing, giving the wearer freedom.


7. Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels.
8. 1. The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
   
   
   2. The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city.
   
   
9. A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference: "the seductive freedoms and excesses of the picaresque form" (John W. Aldridge).

Here is how I see freedom:

• Not being a prisoner to the oil companies and fluctuating gas prices
• Not being a prisoner to a bank for loans that I can't afford
• Wearing jeans that I've had for over 7 years
• Riding my bike home from work enjoying the fresh air
• Walking where I need to go and not being a slave to a schedule
• Not being a prisoner to a stock portfolio that will determine the rest of my life
• Knowing that I could be happy living on very little
• Continuing to learn more about the world

I'm afraid that my definition of freedom is not the same as other people. I see freedom as living a simple life that doesn't go beyond my own means, that doesn't put an unnecessary strain on the earth's resources, that allows me to try to learn more about the world and how we got where we are, and doesn't make me a slave to anybody or anything.

I wish others will someday share my dream of this type of freedom. I really hope an economic catastrophe and depression will make people realize how unnecessary their lifestyles were and will truly bring people closer to their family and well within their means. This is a dream I have, and sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to achieve it.