Inconvenient Debt: We can always print more money

This is a video from Fox News describing one of the reasons why government policy in the United States is going to destroy the world economy.



In case you don't understand why this is a bad thing

Opposition Parties translated

The National Post provided a brief summary of the reaction of the three opposition parties to the budget. Some of the quotes need to be translated out of political speech.

Igantieff said, "There are positive aspects of this budget, which I believe are the result of pressure from the opposition."

Translation: I'm going to pass the budget but I'm going to make a big deal about it first.

I have mixed feelings about the way he has been conducting himself as opposition leader. He has been inconsistent about his policy positions. He was supportive of tax breaks until he wasn't and thought that deficits were okay until he didn't. He seems to be opposing for the sake of opposing rather than presenting a clear alternative to government policies. On the other hand he is able to say that he may bring down the government without people laughing at him. Which is an improvement over Dion.

Jack Layton said, "The budget will leave a lot of people behind. Won't help the unemployed or stop the bleeding we're seeing now. We're disappointed. It won't get the job done."

Translation: I still want to be Minister of Industry.

Jack Layton has worked hard to destroy what credibility he had. He has been saying for almost two months that the budget won't be good enough. So no one is surprised that he opposes it once it is here. He would have done better to take a similar line as Ignatieff did.

Ducceppe says, "blah blah blah Quebec blah blah Quebec"

Translation: Let it all burn as long as Quebec gets a few extra million.

You have to give the BQ credit for consistancy.

Awful Budget

I plan to do a full post with my full thoughts on the budget in the next day or 2, but I just wanted to say that the 2009 budget was one of the worst budgets I have ever seen. I won't go as far to say it was the worst budget ever (it may be, I'm just not certain that it is), but it certainly was the worst budget of the past 20 years.

What's the point of having a Conservative Party in power if they aren't even willing to try and defend conservatism? Would the coalition really have had more than a $34B deficit? I'd rather be in opposition saying that a $34B deficit is reckless than to be the ones pushing for it. At least if we were in opposition I'd have some hope of things improving.

Raphael Alexander has had a few well written posts in the last couple of days that I agree with on the Conservative Party's lack of conservatism. Most of my thoughts can be summed up by his posts.

Residential school compensation may have led to more tragedy

Money does not solve social issues. This has been proven once again, in a tragic way. According to the National Post, there have been several suicides and overdoses in the various among residential school survivors. These incidents are being attributed to the residential school reparations by other survivors. Many of the residential school survivors, being deeply affected by their experience, are drug addicts and alcoholics. So the government handed over a relatively large amount of money to drug addicts, who then went out and bought more drugs. That is to say that the government of Canada has enabled tragedy.

It seemed so easy. An apology for a horrific government policy and money meant to both compensate and help the victims build a better life. It is never, however, that easy. Government actions always have unintended consequences and far more often than not, those consequences are horrific.

In a lot of ways government is at its worse when it tries and corrects the mistakes of government. Government corrections often cause more damage, or make things bad in a new and spectacular way. The only way to help these communities would be to stop treating them as wards of the state; to have a retreat of government from their highly regulated lives; to install property rights and allow the individuals to raise capital on their own merits.

National Post opposes deficit spending

The National Post has to come out and declare their opposition to massive, and as they call it, unnecessary spending increase. I am heartened to see that a prominent paper is still able to make good sense of the economy. I am disheartened by my belief that this good sense will be thoroughly ignored.

National Post editorial board: No need for a big stimulus

Posted: January 26, 2009, 8:31 AM by Kelly McParland

Full Comment, Editorial board

As we were told last Thursday in a rather extraordinary revelation by Prime Minister's Office staffers, tomorrow's budget will yield a $34-billion deficit this year and another $30-billion shortfall next year. Close to $50-billion of this overspending -- and perhaps a total of $85-billion over the next five budgets -- will be attributable to so-called fiscal stimulus. Supporters of big government will take this as good news. But this newspaper takes the opposite view: The Bank of Canada is already predicting an economic turnaround in the second half of this year and a "robust" recovery in 2010. Sloshing so much tax money into a rebounding economy would be useless at best and could well prove harmful.

The return of deficit spending

In last week’s Maclean’s, Andrew Coyne marvelled at the return of deficit spending as an acceptable government policy.

He asked why deficit spending has returned to vogue, “not only by the political class, for whom its appeal is obvious, but by much of the economics profession? How, when so little fresh evidence has been offered of its effectiveness, and so much of the original critique that first discredited it remains intact?”

I myself marvel at this. It was not long ago that an economist calling for deficits would have been considered a dinosaur, and a politician calling for a deficit would have been committing political suicide. Now suddenly all four of our Parliamentary parties are calling for a deficit. What is worse is that there is not even the hint of a discussion of what can be cut. I don’t see a parliament that has the will to fight a deficit and combat the debt.

The argument against deficit spending is best described in this video.

This simple and clear logic has never been successfully dismantled. It has simply been ignored. Why has it been ignored? Because of a lie that we have been telling ourselves for generations; the lie that government is entrusted to insure our prosperity.

Government does not have the ability to create wealth. All that government can do is set the conditions that encourage wealth to be created. Taking capital out of the economy and redistributing that capital is not the way to set those conditions. Instead the government should look at ways to decrease barriers to doing business. Perhaps create an employment tax holiday or reconsider some regulations. That will do far more to help the economy in a meaningful way.

Peter Shurman: Back to Work York University

The PC Member of Provincial Parliament Peter Shurman introduced a bill aimed at ending the strike at York University. The bill titled, “Back to work act (York University)” basically demands that the Minister of Labour legislates an end to the strike. The bill passed on division on December 2^nd, but its deadline for the Minister to act is December 11^th. I have no idea what made Mr. Shurman think that he could pass this bill so quickly, but it means that it is either dead or has to be amended.

Either way it is an interesting attempt by a MPP to resolve the matter. At first glance I would oppose an attempt by the state to force people to sign a contract. On the other hand it is the interference of the state that has made this sort of situation possible.

The CUPE union members went on strike, ceasing many university services. The Graduate Student Union at York University then decided to strike in sympathy with the CUPE workers. It is this that has brought classes to an end and will ultimately do permanent damage to York’s reputation. The University is now crippled by the unions.

This has been made possible by “right to strike” legislation that has been passed over the last half century. There are now so many legal protections for unions that it would hardly be an exaggeration to call them above us in the eyes of the law. Backed by the force of the state, they carry out activities that the rest of us surely would not get away with. (Such as forcing people to pay dues)

So perhaps it is necessary for the state to force a contract. If nothing else it needs to try and fix the circumstances that it helped to create. Yet for a long term solution; to prevent this from happening again, Ontario’s legislature needs to take a long hard look at the fairness of Ontario’s labour laws.

B.H. Obama: the neo-con hack

I am beginning to suspect that the 'change' that now President Obama is going to offer is more about style than substance. That funny part is if you told a Canadian his policy positions without naming Obama, most Canadians would think that he was part of the 'far right.' This is captured nicely in a Ottawa Sun opinion piece by Lorrie Goldstein.

Here's how Barack Obama's inauguration as U.S. president should have been reported by gushing Canadian media pundits, had they applied the same "standards" to him as they do to Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, an ideological neo-conservative irresponsibly poised to introduce broad-based, middle-class tax cuts, despite a huge and growing U.S. deficit and global recession.

Obama's fiscally reckless promises of $275 billion in tax cuts this year, and $2.9 trillion over the next decade, will condemn the U.S. to years of structural deficits, for which future generations will have to pay, say leading economists.

Boasting on the official White House website that his massive tax giveaway will result in a $3,700 tax cut for a married couple earning $75,000 with two children, one in college, Obama ignored the devastating impact such policies, designed mainly for short-term political gain, will have on future generations and on government programs Americans hold dear, such as social security.

(continued)

Inauguration drinking game

There was a suggestion on 92.5 Jack FM that there should be a Barack Obama inauguration drinking game. The DJ only made three rules; hear 'change' take a shot; hear 'defining moment' take a shot; hear 'hope' take a shot. I figure I could add a few rules to this.

1. someone says 'hope' - drink
2. someone says 'defining moment' - drink
3. someone says 'change' - drink
4. anytime a reporter is lost for words due to gushing - shot
5. anytime someone compares Obama to Abraham Lincoln - drink
6. anytime that someone marvels at the size of the crowd - drink
7. anytime someone takes an unnecessary shot at George Bush - drink
8. anytime that a leader of the 'black community' is interviewed (besides Al Sharpton) - shot
9. anytime Al Sharpton is mentioned - shot
10. anytime Al Sharpton appears on television - two shots
11. anytime that a party or celebration is mentioned in a country besides the United States - drink
12. Anytime you see an attractive member of the opposite sex wearing an Obama t-shirt - shot

Drink responsibly people.

I just thought I liked food...

Apparently I have an eating condition. I am self diagnosing myself with Gourmand Syndrome. Anyone that knows me knows I have a somewhat usual obsession over food. It isn't just that I really enjoy foie gras (seared, preferably), it is that I have some sort of brain damage.

Now my question is, how do I apply for government funding? Tasting menus are expensive, and it isn't my fault that I have this syndrome.

Here's the science stuff that I don't understand (full report here):

We present a new benign eating disorder associated with lesions involving parts of the right anterior cerebral hemisphere. This "gourmand" syndrome describes a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating. Two exemplary case reports illustrate this new syndrome. Analysis of the clinical and anatomical data of 36 patients who displayed this behavior revealed, in 34, a strong association with lesion location in the right anterior part of the brain involving cortical areas, basal ganglia, or limbic structures. Our finding provides further evidence of a correlation between right hemispheric damage, eating, and other impulse control disorders. We conjecture that the serotonergic system subserves different functions in the left and right hemisphere.

H/T: Bitten

Why should I pay taxes?

I think too many people take the idea for taxation for granted. It is like if someone carried an extra wallet in their pocket because they assumed that they would be mugged. We should all take the time to consider what we are getting for the money we pay.



(This was part of my long standing habit of stealing videos from the Western Standard)

Western Standard: Ann Coulter endorses Ron Paul

Anytime I find myself agreeing with Ann Coulter I get a shiver up my spine.

(Video posted on the Western Standard)



I wonder if she knows his drug policies?

The Dalai Lama on terrorism

The Dalai Lama made speech a couple of days ago that seems to have stunned people. He said two things, first that he “Loves George Bush” and second that he thinks “It’s difficult to deal with terrorism through non-violence.”

A disclaimer, I am far more wary of the Dalai Lama than most people. I don’t mind him as a spiritual leader but his claim to government-in-exile scares me. The Tibetan regime before the Chinese invasion was a theocracy and in many ways more oppressive than the communist government. That being said, I always have found him interesting as a spiritual preacher.

The first comment can be properly dismissed. From what I understand of Tibetan Buddhism’s theology, the Dalai Lama would say, “I love squirrels” with equal conviction. It may shock some of you to learn that George Bush is still a human being and thus deserves the respect that any human being should receive, but that wouldn’t shock the Dalai Lama.

The second statement seems contradictory to Dalai Lama’s teachings only if you take a simplistic view of both his teachings and his statement. You have to consider what he said along with another quote, "They (terrorists) are very brilliant and educated...but a strong ill feeling is bred in them. Their minds are closed."

This statement reminded me of the beginning of Plato’s Republic. Polemarchus and Glaucon wanted Socrates to come and enjoy the festivities with them. Plato didn’t want to hang about;

Polemarchus: Well, you must either prove stronger than we are, or you will have to stay here.

Socrates: Isn’t there another alternative, namely, that we persuade you to let us go?

Polemarchus: But could you persuade us, if we won’t listen?

Glaucon: Certainly not

How can you negotiate or argue with someone who’s first and only method is violence? Polemarchus did not even attempt to coax Socrates into staying with them. He resorted straight away to the threat of force. Polemarchus is like a terrorist. The greatest debater of all time could not convince him because he would simply not listen to the argument.

This is what the Dalai Lama is saying. Those who would kill to win an argument must be stopped. But he does not necessarily endorse violence as the ultimate solution for terrorists. Killing people can only close more minds and create more terrorists. A far more effective method would be to find ways to keep their minds open.

Refighting the Plains of Abraham

On the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham hundreds of history nerds will gather together and re-enact the battle. It is an exciting idea for people that spend their days reading historical works or even if they just read historical fiction. It will be like living a piece of the past.

People from Britain, United States, and Canada are all gathering to participate in this re-enactment. Some of them likely have met each other before at similar gatherings. Many of them will be making new friends and enjoying the company of people that share their hobby. It sounds like a total blast.

To the separatists it sounds like an insult. According to the Globe & Mail several separatist groups and commentators are up in arms about the re-enactment of the battle.

"You don't commemorate the defeat of a people, and you don't celebrate the defeat of a people," said Ms. Maltais...

"It's closer to vulgar propaganda than an honest interpretation of the conquest," Mr. Bourgeois said.

"We are probably the only people who mark defeat. It's like recalling your first spanking," Mr. Lacoursière said. The French wouldn't celebrate their defeat at Waterloo, he said.

They should all take a chill pill. Re-enacting a battle is not exactly the same thing as celebrating a battle. But even if it was, I still think they should shut up. This battle was perhaps the most important battle ever fought on what is now Canadian soil. To ignore the battle would be like ignoring Canada’s past, something that we already do much too often.

I ask myself, “why are they making such a big deal out of this?” The answer comes all too quickly. Separatists are experts on making a big deal out of nothing. It is their primary tool for intimidation. They hope that by raising stink about stupid stuff like this they can force any Quebecer who is proud to be Canadian into silence.

I truly hope that the re-enactors don’t back down and bow to separatist intimidation.

*historical note*

The actual importance of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham is actually being exaggerated. It was by no means a decisive victory. If the French navy had shown up before the English navy than New France would have survived.

Free Market Environmentalism

Are you tired of big government solutions for enviromental problems? Do you wonder if there is another way to go about saving the enviroment? Well there is, and you can come and learn all about it at the Enviromental Policy Seminar. This is another fantastic seminar being put on by the Institute for Liberal Studies. These are always fun and I always learn something new from them.

Here are the details;

The Institute for Liberal Studies hosts student seminars promoting the discussion of social and economic liberty including the Liberty Summer Seminar and one-day seminars in Toronto, Waterloo and Windsor.

The Environmental Policy Seminar will be held on Saturday, February 7 from 10am to 4pm at the University of Mississauga (CCT 2130). This one-day seminar will provide students and non-students with a chance to hear from experts in different areas of environmental policy.

Registration is now open. This seminar is free for students and just $25 for general admission. Lunch will be provided.

Speakers:

Ben Dachis, CD Howe Institute - What should governments do about climate change?

Pierre Desrochers, University of Toronto - Mississauga - A critique of the food miles perspective.

Karol Boudreaux, Enterprise Africa - Community-based Natural Resource Programs in Nambia

The Blogger's Curse

This is a bit random but I felt like it needed to be shared with the blogger/blog reading community.

Russian opposition leader on Russian aggression

Garry Kaparov, leader of the Other Russia Coalition, wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. In it he calls his own country a petrodictatorship and accuses the Kremlin of purposefully adding to international instability for the sake of crude oil prices.

There persists a very damaging myth in the West, spouted by politicians and the press, that says Russia's assistance is needed with Iran and other rogue states. In fact, the Kremlin has been stirring this pot for years and has a vested interest in further increasing turmoil in the region. The Hamas/Hezbollah rockets, based on the Russian Katyusha and Grad, are not delivered via DHL from Allah. It doesn't require the guile of a KGB man like Mr. Putin to imagine a way to accelerate Iran's nuclear program, which has been aided by Russian technology and protected by the Kremlin from meaningful international action.

A war between Iran and Israel, according to Kaparov, would benefit Russia's Imperial program. Crude Oil prices will shoot back up to $100 a barrel and Russia would once again be able to bully its neighbours. What is more is Russia would be able to do so with a distracted world giving them a pass.

I worry about Russia, and I worry about how Russia is extorting Ukraine. Russia may not be the super power that it once was, but it still has the resources to cause a great deal of pain and suffering in the world.

Recent Obama Cartoons

Tell me if you detect a theme



and in conclusion...

(thanks to Political Cartoons)

John Tory & Laurie Scott Deal

I am not going to write a post about why Tory should leave. Plenty of other members of Blogging Tories have done that here, here, here, here and here. That being said, I am finding it difficult to disagree with a this Liberal blogger: The Liberal Bag.

There are a couple things that John Tory and Laurie Scott can do that would make me feel better about this situation. John Tory is still the leader and he has a right to ask a caucus member to step down. However, I'm not a fan of parachute candidates, but if Tory runs in an open nomination race and then wins the by-election, there will be more legitimacy in his win. This is very unlikely because I doubt Tory wants a nomination race since there is a chance he wouldn't win in a rural riding.

More importantly than Tory going through a nomination race, if Laurie Scott wants to come back to run in 2011, there should be an open nomination race. It should be up to the Progressive Conservative members of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock to decide if she gets the nomination, this should not be promised to her in the deal. If we are a grassroots party, then let the party members decide if Laurie Scott should still represent them after quitting midterm.

Laurie Scott is getting a pretty good deal

Most journalists have decided that it is set in stone that Laurie Scott will give up her seat for John Tory, leader of the PC Party of Ontario. The pundits have moved on to deciding the 'truth' of what this means.

At the beginning of his article, Andrew Steele from the Globe & Mail says that Laurie Scott is sacrificing her career for the sake of John Tory's 'ambition.' I have also heard other people refer to this as a sacrifice. If only I could suffer a sacrifice like this.

Laurie Scott is giving up a $110 000 a year job. In exchange she is receiving $100 000 in severance and will be given a $150 000 job for two years. At the end of those two years she will most likely return to that $110 000 a year job.

Can someone please point out what she is losing in this?

*update*

She is not getting the Chief of Staff position, but instead is being given the election readiness portfolio. Not sure how much this position pays, but if she will be making $60 000 a year she'll be breaking even on the deal. If she will be making more than that then she is still financially better off.

Ron Paul and ending the Empire

I am again stealing from the Western Standard but this is an interesting video. (ignore that bit at the end, I don't know what that is about)



A year ago I would have disagreed with Ron Paul's foreign policy, but now I think the situation has changed. In a time of economic crisis I'm not sure that the United States can afford to fight two wars. This wouldn't be the first time that wars were ended because one side ran out of money.

John McCain launches "Country First"

John McCain has launched a new grassroots movement called Country First, but I have no idea what it stands for. He sent out an 11 paragraph e-mail encouraging his supporters to contribute and become 'charter members,' yet he provided no real statement of principles.

The e-mail said:

Country First will allow us to strengthen our Party, better define our Republican ideals and message, recruit and back strong, dedicated candidates and continue our efforts to bring real reform to government by always putting our country and the noble ideals she stands for first.

Yet I don't know how he wishes to define those Republican ideals nor do I know what sort of candidate this group will support. The rest of the e-mail talked about duty and how he appreciated people's support during the election.

I checked the website and there only one page and that was asking for money. (the video will give you an idea of the sort of content in the e-mail)

I don't get this. If someone is asking me for money I want more details than this.

End Agricultural Subsidies

This Cato Institute video was posted on the Western Standard. It is advocating the end of the Agriculture Department in the United States.



They sort of touched on it but it is an important point so I will underline it. The people that are hurt the most by these subsidies are the poor. Not just the poor here at home but the poor in countries without industries or an agricultural economy. These countries should have a comparative advantage in food production, but that advantage is stripped from them by these protectionist policies. As a result the poor of Africa and elsewhere suffer.

Ron Paul's supporters welcomed into the Republican Party

I have seen several signals coming out of the Republican Party that has given me great hope. I think that the leadership of that party has realized that they have lost their way and need to rebuild.

The latest encouraging sign, as reported by the Western Standard, is the willingness of all the candidates for RNC Chairmanship to welcome Ron Paul supporters into the party apperatus. It was only a year ago that Ron Paul was dismissed by the party elite as a member of the lunatic fringe.

Headlines for the Hamas-Israel conflict

A quick study of the headlines regarding the military crisis in the Middle East.

First the Canadian headlines.

The Toronto Star: Israel tightens Gaza grip
Makes the Israelis sound like Darth Vader.

The Globe & Mail: Israel continues to pound Gaza
Makes the Israeli army sound like an over enthusiastic bouncer.

National Post: France seeks Gaza truce as Israel presses the assault
This seems rather neutral to Israel. There are no condemning words here such as 'grip' or 'pound.'

Now for the American headlines.

CNN: Hamas defiant over rocket strikes
I'm calling this one a positive for Israel. It underlines and reinforces their argument for the invasion.

Wall Street Journal: Israeli troops hold position in Gaza
Again no condemning language here. I find it interesting that the implication of this headline contradicts the implication of the three Canadian headlines. Are they holding position or pressing the assault?

New York Times: Israel rebuffs peace efforts, driving deeper into Gaza
Yep Israelis are a war like people that reject peace talks and drive deeper into things. In some ways this is the most anti-Israel spin of all the headlines I've mentioned.

Overall I'd say that most headlines in both countries are at least somewhat negative towards Israel. The best thing I could say about the United State's news media is that the top tier aren't using words like 'grip' or 'pound' in their headlines. Such words are inflammatory and not worthy of our supposedly best newspapers.

Russia putting the screws to Ukraine

If you had any doubt that Canada was performing relatively well in the current global economic downturn, then you should just take a look at Ukraine. After the collapse of the Soviet Union credit was given out freely and without caution in Ukraine. Thus creating an even harsher ‘credit crunch’ than the one being experienced in Canada or the United States. It is feared in Ukraine that the standard of living will drop to the lowest points of communist rule.

Then here comes Russia to ensure that this happens. The Russian oil monopoly Gazprom wants to raise the price of gas from $179.50 per 1 000 cubic meters to $418 per 1 000 cubic meters. Raising the price of gas by 233% at a time that crude oil prices are dropping makes no sense. Obviously with the decline of economic activity there is less demand for oil and gas.

The reason behind the raise becomes clear when you consider that the Russians originally asked for an increase to $250 per 1 000 cubic meters. As soon as the Ukrainians disputed the new price they raised it to the $418 price tag. The Russians are punishing the Ukrainians for their audacious rejection of Russian dictums. This is not about oil, gas, or commerce; this is about Russian control.

There is hope for the Ukrainians in this conflict. The European Union has an invested interest in ensuring a stable gas supply from Russia. Three years ago when Russia tried the same thing the EU forced Russia to back down because the EU’s gas supply was dwindling. This time Russia is being more careful. They are ensuring, as much as they can, that Ukraine is the only country harmed. Still already several European countries are voicing their concern over their gas supply. Already European opinion is showing signs of siding with Ukraine.

Hamas is to blame

I have largely remained quiet on the Israeli bombings of the Gaza strip. This not because I don’t have an opinion, I was concerned that complexity of the situation did not lend itself well to this sort of forum. But now that ground troops have surrounded Gaza City, I feel that something has to be made entirely clear. This is the fault of Hamas.

A year ago Hamas forces threw a coup in Gaza, chasing out the supporters of the more moderate President Abbas. After this Hamas’ Gaza effectively became a state within itself. It is Hamas that has acted as police and have kept order in the crowded and impoverished area. Abbas or any other Palestinian faction was unable to do anything to restrain the radicalism of Hamas.

Hamas used this free hand to strike terror into Israel. They launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, killing and maiming with no military end. What country could tolerate this state of affairs? Imagine warning sirens going on a daily bases. Imagine not only fearing for your own life but for the lives of your children and your neighbours. Israel has reacted in the only way that a reasonable person could expect them to react.

There are volumes of books written about the moral responsibility of war. Yet I have never read any author who claimed that a country may not attack back if they are attacked. Israel was under attack by the only authority left in the Gaza Strip. It should be universally acknowledged that Israel has a duty to defend itself. The present engagement of hostilities is therefore clearly the fault of Hamas.

John Tory: Promise Made, Promise Broken

Now that it is 2009, John Tory has officially failed to live up to his promise of finding a seat before the end of 2008. This seems a little ridiculous because he set the arbitrary deadline himself and then failed to meet it. I am sure Tory has been trying to not look silly and find a seat, so this certainly implies to me that caucus is not fully behind the leader. Are we seriously going to go into the 2011 election thinking Tory can win over the electorate when he can't even win over the people that he would expect to form key positions in a John Tory lead government?

I know Tory has some type of announcement on January 9th where he will hopefully either give a reasonable explanation of how he can stay on as leader or he will announce his resignation. Hopefully he doesn't just say that everything is going great and that he will now wait until the election to run in a safe riding since he is unable to win anywhere that the Ontario PC Party has to win to actually form a government.

Blue Blogging Soapbox has a post with a poll and video on this issue: John Tory - Should I Stay or Should I Go?