Was trying to write about this on twitter but I really, really could not fit a proper rant into 140 characters.

So. OK, go here and look at this ugly-ass bridge that Calgary city council is paying a buttload of money for. I mean, yeah, it's kind of neat, but it looks like total crap in the beautiful riverside parks it's being plunked down in.

Yes, the money is infrastructure money that came from the province, and yes, I recognize that it's not directly tied to our huge property tax increase, but SERIOUSLY... could they not think of anything more important to do with FRICKIN' 22 MILLION DOLLARS?!? Are there not any more pressing infrastructure needs? Could we have possibly gotten a cheaper bridge that didn't look like ass? I mean, come on! What a total waste of money!

And now this stupid thing is back in the news because they've decided to name it the "Peace Bridge". Supposedly to honour the troops. Personally, I think that if Bronco was serious about honouring the troops he could, I don't know, allow yellow ribbons on city vehicles or half-mast flags for Calgary's fallen soldiers instead of white-washing his pet project by pretending to name it for the troops when really "peace" is just some nebulous lefty ideal that often means "we don't like the military".

P.S. FRICKIN' UGLY.

I've been collecting stories from various places over the past few days... it seems to have been an especially stupid news week.

• As Matt mentioned, schools in some places in the States are getting ridiculously restrictive rules for playgrounds - no running, no swings, no merry-go-rounds, no high slides, no fun. No exercise, either. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before this movement towards zero-litigation "playgrounds" makes its way into Canada.
• Hutterites won't have to get pictures taken for their driver's licenses. Uh, you may have the Charter right to freedom of religion, but you don't have a Charter right to a driver's license. That would be a privilege. And now for tinfoil hat time... if this becomes widespread enough that driver's licenses cease to be useful as ID, is the government going to use that to bring in a national ID card with biometrics and the whole bit (or do Hutterites also have religious objections to pictures of their fingerprints, irises, or records of their DNA)? Well, the Conservatives have already dismissed it (thank God), but I'm sure some of the big-government people on the left side of the spectrum would just loooooove it. Think of all the new union members required to run it! I personally can't think of a bigger waste of money. It's not like national ID systems are making our lives any safer anyway... heck, when I came back from my trip to Montana last weekend, they didn't even ask for any ID at the border. I coulda been anyone. So I suppose it doesn't matter if my photo was on my passport or not. Wait, why was I ranting again? Oh yeah... I must be grumpy that they can now use one license for anyone on the colony if they don't all go out at the same time. I wish I could pay a $1 share of a license instead of a $75 one! Not to mention having someone else pass the test for me. Damn, maybe I should stop objecting and just become a Hutterite.
• A Conservative MP was forced to step down for some committee position because he was beaking off about the Supreme Court justices over the weekend and kinda pissed off some people. But I don't know, someone who thinks that what they think should be "right" trumps what the Parliament, the Senate, and, oh, most everyone in the country thinks should be "right"* seems to me to maybe, perhaps, have a wee-bit of a God-complex, no?
• Quote of the week from MostlyFree at Liberty is Good:

  "...I come across an article regarding McGuinty bitching (again) about the fact that Ontario puts more into the equalization transfers than it gets. It's entitled 'We pay for benefits for others.' Well, yeah. That's kind of how socialism works..."

  Beautiful!
• And last, but certainly not least, PM Harper proves once again he has a sense of humour. Faced with a bizarre tin-foil hat question, he responded thusly:

  "Mr. Speaker, I cannot resist answering a question about the vast right wing conspiracy. What I will say is that I will speak to the Minister of National Defence and see if there is any possibility in the budget of a black helicopter, so we can fly the hon. member around to investigate his concerns."

  Ha!

_________________________________

*And I quote: "The rule of law requires judges to uphold unwritten constitutional norms, even in the face of clearly enacted laws or hostile public opinion." So basically, since they're "unwritten", they're pulling them out of their asses.

I have to admit, I really didn't care much for provincial politics before. I guess when you have it good, you don't really have to put too much effort in. But now, with Ralph on his way out, I've started to pay more attention.

I didn't know much about a lot of the PC leadership candidates, and once I knew more, I was still kind of... blah. Nothing really exciting there. It seems Jim Dinning has a bit of a lead, but I'm not hugely enthusiastic about him. No one else really catches my imagination.

But when I heard this, I started paying a lot more attention. I have tons of respect for Mr. Manning, and I really like the more environmental edge he's picked up lately. My brother sent me this "Manning for Premier" website this morning. I'm in. I can't donate (gotta take care of those student loans), but I will sure as heck volunteer. Well, as much as I can before the baby comes, anyways.

Does anyone know how the PC party runs its leadership election? Is it one-member-one-vote, or is it by delegates? I tried to find out on their website but it's surprisingly short on detail.

... another bad story coming out of Quebec's daycare system. A model for the rest of Canada, indeed. :\

This isn't as bad as leaving a child out in freezing temperatures for four hours, but could easily have been worse if the child had an illness or had woken up alone. How much trouble could a toddler get into while completely unsupervised?

I have to remind myself every once in awhile that, thankfully, this nightmare of a system will not be coming to Alberta. We won't have to pay taxes to support it, we won't have to hear horror stories from friends who need to use it, and we will definitely not be using it ourselves.

I'm thankful that, finally, our choices as parents will be respected. When Matt and I got married, we talked about our views on kids and childrearing beforehand so there were no surprises afterwards. We both feel that having a parent at home with the wee ones (especially when they are young, before they get to school) is the right choice for us and our family, and I'm glad we're not going to be punished by the government for that choice.

I've heard so many people say lately that they have no choice, they need to go back to work, have to put their kids in daycare, etc. etc. etc. There is almost always a choice. I hate being told that I'm so lucky to be able to stay home - we are making sacrifices to make this work because it is a choice and not fate or luck or anything else. We don't have a big fancy house. We don't have a second vehicle. We don't go on a yearly tropical vacation. We don't do these things so we can do what is right for our family - having a parent at home who loves and cares for them and can be there just for them.

I don't think you're ever going to be able to pay a stranger enough to care for your child the same way, and in Quebec, it seems they care a heck of a lot less.

Edited to add: Fantastic entry at Kerplonka about all the reasons to run from a Liberal-style top-down union-run daycare system, and more childcare opinion at Choice for Childcare. Apparently today is a blog burst so I'll try to write more about childcare later.

I don't think I like this one bit.

I didn't like it when Belinda or Brison did it, and I don't like it now.

When you're elected, you're elected because you hold certain principles, which are identifiable by your party affiliation. Are aisle-jumpers able to just adopt a whole new philosophy on a whim? Suddenly that National Daycare Program didn't seem so hot when it meant a smaller office and less power?

Wasn't there something about this in our platform, to prevent these kind of whole-new-philosophy-for-power moves? (Update: apparently not.)

Man. Not to mention all the good MPs who've spent years in opposition who deserve cabinet spots now.

Ooh, I am mad.

This was going to be the Best! Birthday! Ever! what with a Conservative PM (one who I really admire) getting sworn in on my birthday, but now I am just mad. Ooh.

What a day. :)

Matt and I just got home. After the polls closed and I had finished up stuff around the office (including looking up a polling station for a constituent 15 minutes before the polls closed), we headed downtown.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

That part I wasn't so fond about.

BUT the coolest thing I've experienced this entire campaign was that rally. The energy, the hope, the joy of everyone in that room was amazing, especially as we sung O Canada at the beginning of the evening's events.

I enjoyed Harper's speech, as I always tend to (I really like something about his style) and the best part - I got to shake the hand of the new Prime Minister.

It's been a good day. :)

I might be on CBC... a little while ago Jim came in and they were getting the establishing shots for the background... and they would NOT. STOP. FILMING ME.

I get weird in front of the cameras, so it was ESPECIALLY awkward when Jim leaning down to hug me at my computer unexpectedly. I probably made quite the what-the-hell face.

Things are winding down here... at least for me, since we're done with the data entry, and it's getting too late for phone calls. Matt and I are heading down to the convention center soon... YAHOO!

Hope to see some Blogging Tories there!

Only my second break since the last entry, and I had to eat something in the last break, so no blog for you. We're finally getting the last of the voter ID lists into the computer, so I have a second to catch my breath.

It has been an absolute madhouse here - trying to get done the data entry to help the phoners focus their voting reminder calls.

I think I am going to sleep well tonight.

I've been trying to find some of the Newfoundland results, but no luck yet.

CBC is here. I was just told to assume they are always rolling from now on (ie. don't do anything embarassing). So if anyone sees a shot of Jim Prentice's campaign office and sees someone in a green shirt scowling at a computer - that's me.

Things are CRAZY now but I had to quickly post because I am scandalized - one of the returning officers reported that some people are trying to vote twice somewhere around here. Let's hope arrests are forthcoming!

Just got into the office from my shift scrutineering. My partner overslept and had to be found by the office; I almost wish they hadn't found him since it quickly became obvious that he hadn't yet had any coffee when he got there. Oh, how I LOVE fixing other people's mistakes.

Anyway, scrutineering was fun; no big kerfuffles, mostly because the registration desk was just as uppity about having ID when registering as I would be. There were some really nice ladies working for Elections Canada at my location and I had a good chat with a few of them.

I also had a few people tell me "good for you" or wink at me while casting their ballots (I was wearing a "Conservative" name tag), so that's always fun. :)

Things are a bit slow here in the office right now; we won't get the first voters' list info for a while yet. Then it's go-go-go! I'm having a blast.

Get out and vote! :)

OK, damn, I've got to stop slacking off, but I just saw this on the Blogging Tories aggregator and I laughed so I have to share: Three Party Leaders go for a Drive. (Hat-tip to The Invisible Hand.)

I've been awake since 4 a.m. Couldn't sleep. Too excited. I woke up thinking about where the polls are about to open. :D

I've just tossed my laundry in the dryer (I'm apparently not much for planning ahead, but I will at least have clean clothes before I need to leave at 7 a.m.) and I'm checking the news quickly before I jump in the shower.

Today's plan: scrutineer the early shift, then head in the office and enter voter data until polls close. Then, the BIG PARTY! at the convention center downtown (I'd be interested to hear who else from the Blogging Tories is going to be there; I've heard Civitatensis and M.K. Braaten so far), THEN the after-party for our campaign team. Whew! It's going to be a long one, but a great one. :)

I'll be blogging bits of the day when I have time. This is the first election campaign I've ever worked on, and it's been really fun. I want to be able to remember it!

Happy Election Day everyone! Get out there and VOTE!

Tomorrow is the election (or, as we call it around the campaign office, "e-day"). The Liberals are pushing hard to bring you one last week of scandal, and it's been a doozy.

• Prisoners are, again, getting energy rebate cheques.
• Liberals pushed through over a billion dollars in unspecified "urgent" spending in December.
• Massive voters' list irregularities are being discovered in Edmonton Centre (Anne McLelland's riding).
• A liberal candidate told a WW2 vet to move to the States if he doesn't like what the Liberals are doing.
• Another one of Martin's ships - which Canadian taxpayers chipped in 9% to build - is about to be re-flagged and staffed with a Russian crew. Apparently this is the worst-kept secret on the Halifax docks right now.
• And lowest of all... a call to a candidates' forum accusing a Conservative of sexual assault was made from his Liberal opponent's campaign office.

Damn, they must be tired after all that.

If the Liberals are re-elected, this will only continue. We, as Canadians, have a real chance to get rid of the rot infesting Canadian politics and to say, firmly, that this is NOT acceptable. Vote for the NDP, vote for the Greens, or vote for (my personal favorite!) the Conservatives, but vote to show the Liberals that it is not OK to lie, cheat and steal in Ottawa.

I'll leave off with one last ad until after the election... this one's not a parody. It's an ad from the Conservatives. It's a message of change, of hope, of restoring trust in politicians, of the promise of a great, united nation.

Stand Up for Canada!

Fun new stuff every day. And no, it hasn't gotten old yet. For me, at least.

For your viewing pleasure, the Subliminal Party of Canada ads. Watch them all. But especially this one.

Maybe they can give some pointers to the Liberal party on how to make flash videos actually work on their website for non-Windows, non-IE users.