HOW TO STEAL AN ELECTION. LITERALLY

One of the ugliest political deceptions used on Canadian voters apparently happened during the last Federal Election, in May, 2011. It is just coming into significant light now.

Simply put, the action was set up to deliberately mislead voters. Some individuals, claiming to represent Elections Canada, made phone calls directing voters away from established voting places, to addresses where there was no voting poll. (Elections Canada is the government body which runs Federal — meaning national — elections.) The calls apparently were made to people who were somehow identified as supporting parties other than the Conservatives. Calls have been traced to a "voice broadcast" company in Edmonton, Alberta. This is a company which has done work for high-ranking individuals in Canada's Conservative Party, including the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

Plain and simple, someone was disrupting the voting process. The disruption may not have come from the business involved. But it apparently came through that business. For a while, it appeared that the problem occurred in only a few constituencies, where the vote was expected to be tight. Then the number rose to 18. Now, as many as 50 electoral districts may have experienced that disruption. That is over 15 per cent of Canada's total electoral districts.

Yesterday's news is that Elections Canada has received over 31 thousand calls of concern since the story first became public. That's 31,000 calls, by individuals alleging they received misdirecting information.

Clearly, this is not an isolated problem. In fact, it appears to be very well-organized.

The significant thing is that this fits the Conservative's style of  political operation, the end-justifies-the-means, win-at-any-cost approach. Which, I believe, is inconsistent with the Christian values which many Conservatives claim to follow personally.

The Conservatives have set out to fundamentally change Canada, from a country based on citizen equality, to one which has strong class divisions. It follows a pro-business, anti-worker style to governing. And it is scaring a lot of Canadians. 

All this brings us to the work of Lawrence Britt. Britt has made a point of studying Fascist governments in many parts of the world. He has come up with Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism. Here is number 14.

Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

This misdirection of voters which occurred last May is entirely consistent with what Britt has identified — "fraudulent elections."

I'm certainly not the first person to raise concerns about the overall extreme right-wing trend developing in Canada, and in the United States. (Some call it Fascism, which it may be.) But I am concerned about the continuing "problems" the Conservative Party is having (causing?) in Canada.

I'm a Canadian who really loves my "home and native land." And I'm getting more and more concerned by my nation — our nation — developing trends which are not helpful to the majority of it's citizens.

Footnote:

I'm going to give Rick Mercer the last word on this. (His numbers are a bit off, but he makes a good point.)

A HINT

Bear may be Noting things in a new way in the post-hibernation season of life in 2012.

No, you can't quote me; it's just that, well, um. . . .

(To be continued.)

ONWARDS INTO THE NEW YEAR

When I'm not here, I'm often at my main blog, Chrome on the Range.

I do hope you'll drop over sometime and visit there. (Psst: it's a bit friendlier, and more personal, than here.)

Blessings and Bear hugs for 2012.

ANIMAL-HUMAN INTERFACE

Yes, this is my kind of story.

Even though it is not about Bears.

This time, it is about Elk. (Some of my best friends are Elk.)

Oh, and make sure you've got your sound turned on, so you can hear the Elk conversation (and other things).

This really Bears noting.

EMPLOYMENT ISN'T WORKING (Nor is Unemployment)

Now, here is a challenging thought.

In the United States, 64 per cent of people living in poverty have full-time jobs.

I was a bit hard-put to believe this. But apparently, it's correct. And in some cases, it's a couple of part-time jobs, which may add up to more than a full-time job.

Moreover, I know people in that category.

Now, more news. Among young families (meaning families under 30), 37 per cent are living in"economic distress." Meaning "poverty." That's up from about 25 per cent through the first decade of this century. For elderly families the poverty rate is about 5.7 per cent.

Back in the 1970s, the poverty rate for younger families was only slightly higher for families headed by someone aged 65 or older.

But now, having six young families in poverty compared to one elderly family in poverty, is the new norm. It means a huge social change.

First, there was a major shift back in the 1980s, with more money allocated to older citizens. Then, with welfare reform in the 1990s, there was less money to help poor families, which often have only one parent-wage earner (usually a woman). It's those latter families, and high-school dropouts, for whom there are no jobs, even for those who want to work.

The proverbial pigeons have come home to roost. And they're creating a mess, as pigeons usually do.

The change emphasizes the class distinctions (some say "class warfare") in the U.S.

Until meaningful and sustainable employment can be found for a lot of Americans, many will be locked in poverty. And when people are locked in poverty, they cannot spend money on houses, appliances, cars, and the like. That is spending the economy needs to see in order for real economic grown to take place.

"Buddy, can you spare me a job?"

Note: These are American figures, so this is not directly applicable to Canada. But I wonder if the numbers would be significantly different in the "true north strong and free."