Too Busy Being Optimistic to Attend Panic Party

Finally, someone who isn't all doom and gloom about the world. Thank-you Charles Adler. A number of weeks ago I decided to swear off reading about, Tweeting about, "liking", and otherwise supporting all of the panic that the media and others are spreading about the fate of the world economy. Why are we panicking and dwelling on only the bad things? Don't get me wrong, many people are in really tough spots. Does that mean that their lives are over? Does that mean there is nothing good happening. I often find it is the people who have the fewest number of "things" that are the best at finding something good in just about anything. Adler brings up an OECD report that has a number of reasons for Canadians to be optimistic. I had a hard time finding anything on the internet that actually discussed the positive aspects of the report. Instead of saying Canada's real GDP growth will be down next year by a miniscule .485% and that in 2010 it will grow by 2.131%, the press reports that in the first quarter of next year, growth will be down by 1.4%.  How much front-page news the last few days has been given to hilighting the fact that retail sales have been better than expected, or that auto sales are actually up in Canada, or the the stock markets have been on a tear this week? It's all about continuing the panic and getting news sales. We all know that bad news sells better than good news.

So, I'm going to stay positive and live every day for what it is; sure my RRSP's suck at the moment, but I have a family that loves me, a place to live, food on my table, a job that I like, and a car to get me places. I live in one of the best cities in the world in one of the best countries in the world, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. In the spirit of American Thanksgiving I have plenty to be thankful about and I don't need the media telling me why I shouldn't be.

Drat a Canadian Election

Just when the U.S. election was getting fun, we are stuck with a staid boring Canadian election. Oh well, a lot more fodder for blogging.

First thing I noticed? There are 3 pictures of Stephane Dion on the home page of the Conservative Party of Canada. There are only 3 pages of Dion on the home page of the Liberal Party of Canada. What does that tell you? I don't know but the Conservatives are certainly in attack mode.

Palin and Teen Pregnancy

So I have said that I think Sarah Palin is a good thing for the McCain campaign. However, that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with the Republican's platform. This article shows conservative hypocrisy at its best.

"Palin on Monday revealed that her daughter Bristol is pregnant and will
marry the baby's father, adding that she and her husband are "proud of
Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become
grandparents."

The word decision usually means choice. Does that mean that her daughter had a choice? Did she choose to keep this baby? If so, then why shouldn't other women have the right to choose otherwise?

And on sex ed:

"In that same questionnaire, she was asked if she supported funding
for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of "explicit
sex-education programs."

"The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she said."

Uh huh, and how well did the abstinence approach work for her daughter? Or will she blame this on the fact that the schools taught an "explicit sex-ed program"? Her daughter is a teen pregnancy statistic and people really need to consider Palin's record as a parent. I know this stuff is pretty off-limits to the democrats but I hope lots of people are reading it and considering the ramifications.

Female VP?

I would just like to say two things for the record...

1. McCain will likey be the next POTUS
2. If McCain chooses a female running mate, Obama has no chance.

If McCain chooses Sarah Palin as his running mate, it will be a brilliant move. Obama and Clinton would have been unbeatable and I think Obama blew it by not sucking it up and asking her to be VP. I have thought from day 1 that if McCain won the nomination he would win, but hadthe Dem ticket been Obama/Clinton it would have made it a lot tougher. The current Dem ticket is no match for McCain never mind McCain and a woman running mate.

Olympics, My Last Words

Alright, so the Canadians had a pretty fair showing after all. They beat their medal count over Athens, but... there will still plenty of opportunities left behind. A lot of the favorites didn't perform as hoped and it was often the underdogs who did. I'm not sure what that means. Why did van Koeverden place 8th in a race that he was expected to medal in, yet we had a mountain biker who placed 4th that wasn't expected to be close to a medal? Maybe this is typical and I haven't paid close enough attention in the past.

In any case, well done all of Canada's Olympic athletes. Let's hope the dialog continues now that the games are over.

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Making Progress

Well, Canada now has as many medals as Michael Phelps! It's been a good weekend and it looks as though we're in line for some more. I've also been hearing a number of athletes say that they will be disappointed if they don't win a medal. That's more like it! I still stand by my more funding rant though. China had a plan after the Sydney Olympics to increase their medal count. They went about it by looking at the sports where there were the highest possible number of medals available and then concentrating on those sports. Seems to be working well so far, China currently has 67 medals, 39 of those are gold. They don't have the medal count of the U.S., but they have way more gold and if that's measuring stick, they've succeeded.

Yes, China is waaaaayyy bigger than Canada and should win more medals, however Canada is still a long way back of Australia.

Keep up the fight Canadian athletes! Get out your cheque book Canadian governments!

Does it Matter that Canada Can't Win Medals in the Summer Olympics?

I don't intend this post to appear as a slam against any of our athletes currently competing in the Olympics. I can't do what they're doing and they're working hard to represent our country. My concern is that these people aren't being given the tools then need to be competitive and I don't think it's fair to them...

OK, so we're only six days into the Olympics, but already Canada is behind Uzbekistan and Togo in the medal count. Why is it that Canadian athletes seem to have so much trouble winning medals at the Summer Olympics? Do they need to? Scott Russell seems to think we put too much emphasis on winning medals. I think there needs to be a happy medium. Are the athletes really satisfied with the fact that they did their best? Or are they just saying that because they don't want the inevitable questions that come along? Is everyone else on performance enhancing drugs?

I think we need to win medals when we go to the Olympics. Sure, if all our athletes are getting personal bests and beating Canadian records, that's great. However this is a competition. If the Olympics was all about beating personal bests, then you'd get a medal for that. Why isn't there a standing that shows how many countries have broken records held by their athletes? The Olympics is all about showing how you stack up against the rest of the world. Right now, Canada is comparatively mediocre. One of our best hopes for a medal (I know it isn't all about that) in swimming placed a distant 6th in one of his hallmark events. 6th our of 8 isn't all that special. Sure he's better than the other 10 or so swimmers that didn't make it to the final, but is that what he went to Beijing to do? And if he only went there to place 6th, why did he go in the first place? Canada won 5 medals at the World Aquatic Championships in 2007, maybe that's our venue? To me it's all about performing on the world stage and if you're not into being the best in the world then maybe the taxpayers shouldn't be spending money to send you to the competition. The more likely scenario, I think, is that these athletes can only do so well because they aren't being given the tools and opportunities they need to be top of the world, not just somewhere in the middle.

Part of the problem as I see it is that people in Canada only care about the Olympics when they're on. As soon as the Olympics are over will anyone care anymore that the athletes didn't live up to expectations? We should. Remember what happened in Australia? They decided that their country needed to no only perform, but be competitive and win medals. They sunk a whole bunch of money into coaches, programs, and facilities and look at them now. A country with fewer people than Canada and a similar lifestyle and they're 4th. What has Canada done? They've bribed the athletes by saying they'll pay them for medals. No drastic increases in funding, no significant new facilities (except for winter sports) but for any of those athletes currently living in poverty, we'll pay them a one-time payment for winning a medal. Unless they get a big-name sponsor, most athletes in Canada have to have a job in order to live. Is that the way to make a successful elite athlete? Does Michael Phelps have a job at the local sporting goods store or does he spend all his time training and preparing for events? However, the problem in Canada is that we're a winter sports country and it only seems like the government is willing to put up the money for the winter sports. It's time Canada supported our athletes financially. Spend the money on facilities, get the best coaches, give the athletes places to live and train.

I hope that the next couple of weeks proves me wrong. That we end up with a substantial medal tally and all our athletes come home happy with the fact that they were successful on the world stage. However, I think the way our summer sports athletes are supported in Canada is inadequate and only significant change is going to make us competetitive at this ikind of competition. If that change doesn't come we can continue to see a wealthy, healthy, big country continually hanging out in the ranks of countires that have no Olympic programs to speak of and only send 10 people to the games.

GO TEAM CANADA GO!!!!