Friday, October 05, 2007

The Liberals Should Use The Perception of a Divided Caucus and Party to Unleash Policy Trail Balloons

The Liberals should take advantage of a spilt in their ranks to send up policy trail balloons. Have the “rebels” send up trail balloons disguised as criticism. Naturally I think one of those trail balloons should be a suggestion to legalize marijuana.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I agree wholehartedly. I have one question though. When the entire country, with the exeption of the stoners, ridicule this "trial balloon" especially from a party struggling to find itself, which faction of this devided party do you blame such an assine policy stance on?

Seriously, is this the best you can come up with?

Step away from the bong and clear your thoughts.

Sheesh!

Anonymous said...

Oh and sorry for the spelling mistakes...I been tokin'.:)

Koby said...

"When the entire country, with the exeption of the stoners, ridicule this "trial balloon"

According to an Angus Reid poll released in June 55% of Canadians favor legalization. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/16300

Remember when Canada was "Cool". What made Canada "cool"? The liberalization of Canada's marijuana laws, SSM and the Canada's decision to stay out of Iraq.

The New Yorker:

“They have a comparatively sensible approach to the drug problem: while our federal government tries strenuously to put marijuana smokers in jail, even (or especially) when the marijuana has been smoked for medical purposes in states whose people have voted to sanction such use, their federal government is about to decriminalize the possession of small amounts. And now—with a minimum of fuss, hardly any hysteria, and no rending of garments—they have made it legal for persons of the same gender to marry each other. …

“A week later, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced that, instead of trying to get the decision overturned, his cabinet would seek to codify it. Legislation is to be drafted over the next few weeks, vetted by Canada’s supreme court, and submitted to the federal parliament. It’s pretty much a lock that, perhaps as early as next fall, gay marriage will be the undisputed law of the land from St. John’s to the Klondike.
This ghastly prospect was evidently on Scalia’s mind as he composed his dissent in Lawrence v. Texas. If sodomy laws are unsustainable, he warned, then so are “laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation”—masturbation? is that one still on the books?—“adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity.” Doom looms, it would appear. According to Scalia, “The Court has taken sides in the culture war,” and the next step, logically, must be “judicial imposition of homosexual marriage, as has recently occurred in Canada.” Leaving aside the question of who, exactly, gay marriage would be an imposition upon, ….
Good old Canada. It’s the kind of country that makes you proud to be a North American.” http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?030707ta_talk_hertzberg

San Jose Mercury:

THINK CANADA COULD USE ONE MORE PROVINCE?

Oh, Canada! Has someone dumped something into your water?

The government up there will soon bless gay marriages, hand out marijuana to cancer patients and legalize possession of small amounts of pot by others. Canadians were as staunchly against the war in Iraq as San Franciscans. Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto are as ethnically diverse as San Jose -- and tolerant, too.

Americans have tended to think of Canada, if at all, as a placid little brother, a bland 51st state. How times have changed.

In terms of soul mates, the Bay Area could be Canada's 11th province. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1051/a10.html


Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

“And then there's the wild drug situation: Canadian doctors are authorized to dispense medical marijuana. Parliament is considering legislation that would not exactly legalize marijuana possession, as you may have heard, but would reduce the penalty for possession of under 15 grams to a fine, like a speeding ticket. This is to allow law enforcement to concentrate resources on traffickers; if your garden is full of wasps, it's smarter to go for the nest rather than trying to swat every individual bug. Or, in the United States, bong.
… Like teenagers, we fiercely idolize individual freedom but really demand that everyone be the same. But the Canadians seem more adult -- more secure. They aren't afraid of foreigners. They aren't afraid of homosexuality. Most of all, they're not afraid of each other.
I wonder if America will ever be that cool.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030730sam0730p1.asp