Baba Brinkman: “>Don’t Vote for Mean People.

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, think about your granddaughters and grandsons
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
Don’t let Steven Harper hold democracy for ransom

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, don’t encourage Harper’s little tantrum
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
On May 2nd, take the pledge, get your hands up!

Stephen Harper’s lost the plot
He’s not even conservative – those planes cost a lot!
And he lied to MPs about the actual cost
“How much is that gonna cost?” It’s gonna cost him his job
This man has gotta be stopped, he’s a menace
He should build a prison – for most of his back-benchers
What, does he think the courts are just gonna let them off
For election fraud? Hey Stephen, it’s the law
“Oh, it’s an administrative dispute,” don’t make me puke
Convicted felons say the same thing too
That’s like Richard Nixon saying “I am not a crook”
But in this case the “not” came from Bev Oda’s book
So what else are we supposed to overlook? The census?
The parliamentary suspensions that protected their interests?
This man is contemptuous, you better believe it
Canadians don’t need mean people to lead us!

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, think about your granddaughters and grandsons
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
Don’t let Steven Harper hold democracy for ransom

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, don’t encourage Harper’s little tantrum
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
On May 2nd, take the pledge, get your hands up!

Stephen Harper is mean, he’s Machiavellian
No wonder the opposition had a massive rebellion
A historical first, a government in contempt
And Michael did co-write the “responsibility to protect”
Policy at the UN, so he had to step in
‘Cause Harper was acting like a dictator again
And now, like Gaddafi, he fears “the coalition”
But smart Canadians know that it’s bull, so they won’t listen
There is no coalition, despite what Stephen tells you
He’s the one who meets with other leaders in hotel rooms
To try to form a runner-up coalition government
Somehow the word “hypocrite” just doesn’t cover it
Look, he lied to us about the price of his planes
And about the election spending laws he was trying to break
Plus now we’re a joke world-wide on climate change
It’s time for Stephen Harper to retire in shame

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, think about your granddaughters and grandsons
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
Don’t let Steven Harper hold democracy for ransom

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, don’t encourage Harper’s little tantrum
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
On May 2nd, take the pledge, get your hands up!

So after we dismiss the whole conservative team
Then who would the less-mean alternatives be?
Let’s see? The Bloc? “Let’s talk about Quebecers”
Let’s talk about not sounding like a broken record
Let’s talk about the Québécois as proud Canadians
Let’s Bloc Duceppe from the debates and let May in
National parties only in national debates
“But wait, what about the NDP, should they have some space?”
Yes, if we had a preferential ballot
They’d be a great second choice to give the left some balance
But as it stands, the split left is too costly
So an NDP vote is a mean vote by proxy
Unless your riding is heavily NDP-polling
Vote strategically, and Harper’s defeat will be consoling
Besides, we’ve got a Harvard foreign policy expert
For the next Prime Minister, and he’s ready to get to work

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, think about your granddaughters and grandsons
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
Don’t let Steven Harper hold democracy for ransom

Don’t vote for mean people – that’s the anthem
Please, don’t encourage Harper’s little tantrum
Don’t vote for mean people – when the chance comes
On May 2nd, take the pledge, get your hands up! ]]> http://www.omarha-redeye.com/blog/dont-vote-for-mean-people/feed/ 0 http://www.omarha-redeye.com/blog/need-debt-relief-then-vote-liberal/ http://www.omarha-redeye.com/blog/need-debt-relief-then-vote-liberal/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:22:14 +0000 Toronto Lawyer http://www.omarha-redeye.com/blog/?p=2529 Need debt relief? Then vote liberal.

By: VERONICA BLAKE
Published in The Courier. February 25, 2010

Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff considered the idea of wiping out student debt in exchange for one year of volunteer work.

Ignatieff recently rapped up a cross-country tour of University campuses. His student-debt idea is not part of his platform, but it was discussed in an online question and answer session. For the most part, Centennial College students have some form of debt, whether it be from OSAP, bank loans, credit card-debt or begging and borrowing from parents.

Jennifer Romano, 25, is in her first year of the fast-track journalism program on the CCC campus. Before Centennial, she completed a four-year degree at Ryerson University. She expects to graduate with $30,000 of debt.

“I still have such a high debt…cause I still…believe somehow the government is going to pay for part of it,” Romano said. “There’s no way I can pay it off.”

Liberal Omar Ha-Redeye supports Ignatieff’s idea. He thinks that the idea makes sense financially.

“Banks have found that many of these loans default,” Ha-Redeye said. “Canadian students are already finding themselves in a difficult situation, burdened by crippling debt and frustrated that they cannot apply their education in the ways they would want.”

Beginning in the 1999 school year, Ontario high school students were required to complete a mandatory 40 hours of community service in order to receive their diploma. Ignatieff’s volunteerism for debt-relief idea would take this a significant step further.

First-year student Cecilia Olmos, 29 attended the Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico before coming to Centennial. As part of the curriculum, the students would perform social services. She travelled around Mexico providing food and clothing to the poor. Olmos valued this experience.

“It really touched my heart,” Olmos said. “I reinforced my values as a person, that we should help anybody that needs help.”

In addition to the financial benefits for students, volunteer work can be a rewarding and satisfying experience. Omar Ha-Redeye likes an alternative approach to debt-relief that marries financial help with giving back to society.

“Canadian volunteerism has been steadily on the decline and when the youth do volunteer, it’s not necessarily for altruistic reasons,” Ha-Redeye said. “This generation is under enormous pressure to succeed financially and the social burdens placed on the youth are far greater than before.”

The potential college strike further complicates matters. Ashtonbee student, Sashell Mills, 21 dreads the possibility of a strike. She won’t be able to pick up any extra hours at her part-time job, and worries that if the semester is extended into the summer like the York University strike, she’ll miss out on summer job opportunities.

“I’ll mooch off my dad, that’s all I can do,” Mills said. “I’m scared… of paying (OSAP) back.”

Where is the leadership in Ottawa?

…Don’t take us for granted and don’t shut us out of our markets.

…You can’t count on a government if it can’t count. You can’t trust a government that can’t count…

We cannot leave a legacy of deficit for our children and our grandchildren.

Remarks at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Annual Meeting at Whistler from Liberal on Vimeo.

This year marked the law school’s 50th anniversary.

The Western Law Alumni of Distinction Award was presented to Doug Ferguson, Director of the Clinical Legal Services (CLS) at Western and outgoing President of the Liberal Party.

The event was sponsored by Lerners LLP.

Omar Ha-Redeye, Doug Ferguson, and Lawrence Gridin at the 2009 UWO Law Alumni Dinner.

Donations were collected for the Daily Bread Food Bank and L.A.M.P. Community Health Centre.

Warren Kinsella, Liberal strategist, and Omar Ha-Redeye