The Last Exile

A reader sent me a link to this You Tube video which asks the question; Michael Ignatieff – he is not who you think. Roll to the video:

Much is made of the fact that Michael Ignatieff has spent over three decades of his career outside of the country. Some conservative bloggers go so far as to routinely refer to Ignatieff as the First American Prime Minister…in waiting; while much of the criticism on the left centered around Stephen Harper being too Pro-American…well, maybe not today. The one thing critics on the right and left seem to share in common over Ignatieff is this suggestion Ignatieff is just not ‘Canadian’ enough or not as Canadian as you or I. I rather like this comment at the you tube site by Billy982810

He’s? who I think… He’s is a god dam Russian on the inside.

A Canadian, born in Canada, can now be classified as a ‘Russian’. I suppose this means that both my father and I need to turn in our Canadian birth certificates. Well us and probably most of the country should just close up shop and hunker back to wherever our ancestors came from. Although, in mine and the tribe’s case; its going to be hard to just pinpoint one country…I suppose we could always ask Ignatieff to take the Pierre Burton test and ask him to provide creds he knows how to have sex in canoe, of course, not ever having had sex in a canoe doesn’t save my sorry-butt from expulsion….don’t know about my Dad, and frankly, its not the discussion I want to have with my 70+ father.

Then again, my father has spent at least the last 10 years working outside the country so even if he passes the Pierre Burton test he apparently fails place of employment test. The truth is a great number of Canadians work outside the country and have done so for decades. One would think that a Canadian rising to the upper echelon of their profession internationally would be a point of pride for Canadians but apparently not for some Canadians. In fact, there are a number of professions from geologists to drillers to teachers and entertainers and peacekeepers whose services were very much in demand internationally so I suspect there are literally thousands upon thousands of Canadians who need to turn in their passports along with those birth certificates since none of us make the grade as real Canadians.

Much is made, even by myself at one point, about the fact that Ignatieff was actively recruited and enticed to return home to Canada and enter politics. Various Liberals in the upper echelon of the party thought he had a lot to offer the country and could help revive the Liberal party. So apparently answering your countrymen’s call and returning home is now considered a sleazy and arrogant thing to do. Can I turn it around and suggest it might be a patriotic decision? But than again, apparently I don’t hold enough Canadian creds despite the passport and birth certificate so what would I know. Oh yeah, then there is the ‘home’ thingy. Of course, like Igantieff I just happen to have a home outside the country – if that isn’t the last nail in my Canadian creds, I don’t know what is. Someone needs to tell the literally thousands and thousands of Snowbirds their citizenship and patriotism are now grounds for conduct unbecoming a real Canadian.

The other message of the video concerns various statements Ignatieff made working as an academic in the US and his role as an expert in human rights. I rather like the idea that Ignatieff understands the subtleties and choices underlying fighting a war, and that sometimes leaders upon to making a decision between evils to safeguard or keep a larger value. War is an ugly business, there are no often no good choices but only the evil decisions which will be best in keeping to the more important value – the safeguarding the majority of one’s citizens.

I think its foolish not to realize there is only one goal in war and its called victory. Anything less and you might as well surrender and close up shop. We can make all the fancy codes and rules for fighting a war, and sometimes, even meet them, but ultimately, it all depends who you are fighting and whether victory over your enemies means you choose survival over principle. If your enemy shares the same values, great, but if it doesn’t…well then. You get to choose between evils or surrender. Principles are great, I am a great believer in them, but at the same time, I am more of an inglorious type bastard who chooses life as I know it over subjugation every time. But that’s just me asserting my conservative- Russian-on-the- inside values. And may I say, I am rather pleased with the result that the Axis did not triumph over the Allied Forces and our grandparents weren’t overtly concerned or squeamish about making hard choices.

Last night between baking for Friday’s festivities I caught one of the dreaded Conservative attack commercials on the telly using Iggy making the dreaded ‘we’ as in ‘we Americans’. Well, its like this, he was living and working in the US, and for better or worse, his potential security of person, was tied to the overall need US home security. So I ask, so frigging what? I like the idea he understands when one sojourns in a country one needs to share concerns. Frankly, I think its a great to have a potential prime minister who actually had a career outside of politics.

So how does Iggy turn the vote around for the Liberals and possible take majority control of Parliament? It’s called the Harmonized Sales Tax; herein referred to as the Harper Sales Tax. In fact, there are already open admissions from the so-called Liberal Farm team that without the Harper Conservative financial inducements to the farm team Liberals; it would never have bought a ticket for a ride on the Harper sales tax train. Ditto B.C.
 
All Iggy has to do is denounce the tax, and announce if elected Prime Minister; his government will not honour the Conservative fiscal inducements for bringing the provinces in line on a harmonized sales tax basis – unless the Farm team drops their portion of the tax by 3%. His government will never screw over the interests of working Canadians and their families in the interest of filling anyone’s provincial feeding frenzy. Yeah, yeah, I know the NDP are all over it, but so what? When haven’t the Liberals taken and ran with the better ideas which the NDP has managed to come up with now and then? And considering, there is absolutely no frigging chance for Layton to ever be referred to as Mr. Prime Minister – its all good.

Furthermore, in the battleground province we call Ontario, distancing yourself from scandal plagued Farm Team Liberals is not only all good but necessary. If I was Iggy, I would make it a campaign platform that only the National Team can put the Farm Team in line.

Too bad I don’t have any influence with the Liberals because if I did I would add immigration and refugee policy a plank on my platform and run commercials asking Canadians if they would really trust the Conservatives to make the right decisions, the decisions in keeping with Canadian values, on immigration and refugee policy. And after the budget is passed, courtesy of the separatists and socialists, I’d run a commercial of Harper’s infamous speech warning Canadians of the dangers of coalition governments made up of separatists and socialists. Then of course, since I have a decided mean and petty streak I would also run a commercial discussing the Cons getting tough on so-called white collar crimes but not so tough on rapists. But what do I know, I am not only not a ‘real’ Canadian but a member of that left-wing fringe group called ‘women’. I got to get the T-shirt.