A new path

Well hello all

Apparently my hiatus did not last to long, though I am still not my old self. I have been considering a career change into something very different then what I am doing at this momemt. As some may know I am currently an educator and a self styled academic, but the more I see into these profession the less attractive they become to me. I am still a young man who will no doubt start a family while doing many other things, for I do not see myself settling into the career as a teacher. There are many things about the field of education I do not like, but mostly I do not feel like a very effective teacher. I am new so I plan on giving it another year or two, but in the end, if I still feel like I am not developing, or that I am not providing a level of education that I deem to be of good quality then I will bow out. I know many educators who lack the skills to be effective teachers that will remain within the profession because the benefits and pay are good. They may even be comfortable with their lot in life, but I tell you, the idea of damaging even a small number of the youth of a generation makes me feel obligated to leave if I don't improve.

That being said I have been considering what kind of profession I would like to enter as a new career if that path proves to be an ideal one. I always thought I would go into academics, but as time goes by I am not sure why I would want to! I would rather be an independent writer then a part-time lecturer or a tenured beggar, looking for government and corporate scraps. I wanted to get into politics, but with the state of political discourse and political life in Canada, I am not sure what I could accomplish or even if I want to try to "save" (what I would consider saving) a population that seems bent on its own destruction (democratically). So I asked myself, what is it then that I want to do.

Well I started making a list of criteria:
I want to be responsible for making something
I want to use my logical reasoning skills
I want to an intellectually challenging profession
I wouldn't mind some pbysical requirement to my new career
I would like to work in a team environment
I would like the opportunity to lead projects

Now many jobs fit these criteria, but I seem to have fixated on an engineering focus. Sure there are a lot of subsects of engineering and sure my father would gain the opportunity to say I TOLD YOU SO, but who cares. In the end I want to do something that makes me happy and provides accomplishment. I would still love to make it as a writer, and I am currently writing a few texts, but everyone needs something beyond a dream. Oh well, lots to consider, and no time to really do any of it, god I love teaching!

Gone but not for long

For those following my post, I am sad to say that I will not be posting in the near future. I desperately need to find my focus and calm my soul and nerves. I hope you continue to fight the good fight and may Odin bless you all. I hope my hiatus is not long lived.

They actually want to try something!

Well doesn't Prime Minister Harper have egg on his face. He has promised to "harmonize" environmental policies with the U.S., but he never actually expected the U.S. to do anything. It looks like his hopes are being dashed. Of course they are not doing enough, but Mr. Harper seems intent on doing NOTHING. In fact he seems to be trying to go backwards by subsidizing some of the dirtiest gas and oil in the world. His backers are of course these rich oil tycoons and the idea of actually doing something against them would be political suicide, but you will only be able to avoid the environmental consequences for so long. We will have to live with the effect of these policies and the future generations will curse us at best.

Stay the course, Canada's court jester.

I am not sure who listened to Tuesday's power and politics on CBC, but I have to say it was a riot. You can almost feel the election in the air and I have to wonder, is Pierre really our new court jester or is he just a broken record. At one point in the conversation the "evil" and "undemocratic" word was brought up in reference to the opposition. Yes that's right he actually called them a coalition! I wonder if this is an attempt to distract voters by lumping in the left all as one big bad evil...nah Harper would never do that.

More importantly though, and the true reason for the broken record analogy, is the phrase Pierre says at least...well I honestly lost count. This phrase is "stay the course", as if our current government had an actual course in mind. He also like to mention that there was 400 000 thousand jobs created, but when asked what kind of jobs and that many were part time, he was oddly quiet, or simply returned to his mantra "all is well, stay the course". It almost seems that he believes if it is said enough people will accept it at face value...scary part is people actually might. But back to job creation. He was asked at one point if people could actually live on minimum wage, part time jobs and like a bull in a china shop he skillfully avoids the question by simply not acknowledging it.

Maybe a broken record was not the right analogy, he is more like a parrot, only capable of a few practiced responses. An other example that leads me to believe I am closer to the mark with a parrot then a broke record is the term he loved to use, which is "job creators" like 900 say in her post from yesterday, we are seeing a change in the rhetoric. These "job creators" are the rich people we would have once called corporate fat cats and they are being allowed to take a larger chunk of our wealth in return for the pittance we call new jobs. Our government does not even care about the quality of the jobs, since they seem to believe that our situations are so bad we will accept anything. But if they do believe that then they obviously have no interest in improving our lot in life because they are spending our money to ensure we remain happy with crumbs so they can keep the pie.

I am very disappointed with our government and have been for longer then Harper has been in power, but I will be infinitely more disappointed in the electorate if Harper manages to get a majority with his track record. Sometimes it is actually better to go with the unknown over the evil you know, remember that Canada.

The New Year

I am excited for the new year, an election is in the air, no strong competitors. It's like I always hoped, a year of pleasers, pushers, and pains in uncomfortable places taking our country for another spin around the clock. I hope for our sake we have a smoother landing...fingers crossed.

The end is near

Normally saying "the end is near" is a dire warming of imminent destruction, but today it is simply a statement saying a new year begins soon. What does that mean for Canada and Canadians? Well I am sure it means many bad things to come, but even I feel that this may not be the best time of year to address those worries and fears. Instead let us look at some of the things that give us hope.

First I would like to address my fellow bloggers, who wish to voice their opinion, views, and understanding with other individuals, hoping to inspire people to take an interest in their nation. You are the grunts, the ground troops in a constant struggle for freedom of speech and thought. For all your efforts I salute you and I hope that you maintain your vigor and interest in providing perspectives from all corners of the political spectrum.

Next I would like to salute the public service, especially those who have put their neck on the chopping block, so to speak, in order to serve and protect the public. It is a tragedy that hired or appointed individuals must stand up and protect the public from the body they elected to represent them, but i am glad someone is doing that thankless job. May many take heart from your example and stand up for their belief and principles, for what they feel strongly is write and just.

My next thanks goes out to Wikileaks and all other agencies who expose what is hidden in the interest of open governance. This would serve as a reminder to Mr. Harper that you can preach what ever you want, but open government will only exist when all information is available to the public.

I could go on, but I would rather see you add people or organizations that you feel deserve recognition for the creation of hope in the past year and will hopefully continue this trend in the new year.

Merry Festivous to all and to all a wonderful holiday season.

A little hope for the holidays

I am disappointed at the very angry tone of my last post, but the year has not felt like a very bright one. I have decided that today I will share one of my ideas for improving the style of government carried out in Canada. The focus of this suggestion resides in creating a more democratic government without changing the entire system. Let me know what you think.

The first thing I feel needs to occur is the disbanding of political parties. These powerful political entities make democratic practice almost impossible and must be removed from the equation. The house should be filled with many independents. This would cause confusion among voters for the at least the first election for they can no longer vote party over policy and it would put the initiative in the hands of the individual to find out more about their own candidates. It would also force a more open and honest vote in the house because each elected member would be working for its constituent and would not suffer the extreme pressures put on them by their party to tow the line. This would also save money for their would be no cross country campaigning for there is no national seat.

So how would the Prime Minster be chosen. Well once the house is sitting the first order of business for its members would be electing a Prime Minister from its members. This I believe is much more democratic then the leader of the party with the most seats getting to be PM since each member was an independently elected individual and it opens the floor to multiple nominations from a variety of political backgrounds.

Sure this system needs more work and I have much more to say on this in the new year, but I though it would be a nice follow up to my last past and a good precursor to my next post that will show up within the next week. Happy holidays, and here is three cheers to finding and alternative.