An introduction...

Hello world,

I am a long time blog reader, first time blogger. I plan for this blog to be primarily about politics, I am kind of a political junkie.

I consider myself a small c conservative (whatever that really means) but I find it difficult to generalize my thoughts and beliefs into a one word definition. Essentially, I believe that the state should play less of a role in the wallets and purses of Canadians then it does today. I may not be an economists, but I think that individuals and families would be far better off with more disposable income and fewer needless social programs and subsidies.

Socially I am all over the map. I had initial doubts about same-sex marriage, but at the end of the day, I feel that the fuss is about nothing more then the definition of a word. I believe that everybody should be able to live in some sort of union, and if that union is marriage then so be it.

With abortion I feel I don't fall into any category, I am neither pro-life nor pro-choice. I believe a woman has a right to choose, and that a child has a right to live. This issue frustrates me because in a country such as Canada, we should be able to engage in real debate about this issue. I doubt there are many people out there who are comfortable with their tax dollars going towards 3rd trimester abortions, just like i doubt there are many people out there who really think an abortion should be made illegal to rape victims. There is a real middle of the ground on this issue, one that has been completely silenced by both sides.

Health care is another issue where I believe we are stuck in a bad spot. Anybody politician who dares to offer an improvement to Tommy Douglas's dream can consider themselves done. I certainly don't think we should completely privatize everything and let the market take over, but again where is this discussion?? Perhaps we are warming up to health care reform more and more (see: success of the ADQ and the Supreme Court ruling in Quebec last year) but I get the feeling we are still 10 years away from a time when national politicians will be able to talk about these issues and not be ridiculed by the media. That is 10 more years of rising costs and longer waiting times... and lets hope more Charter challenges.

Moving on, I think we need to come down harder on our criminals, continue our hard work in Afghanistan and while this whole global warming business puts knots in my stomach, I feel we do need to find ways to clean up our air and environment.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts with everybody who bothers to read them. I will include the odd post about football, I play varsity football here at Mount Allison, and we are anticipating big things next year. I might also occasionally talk about things going on at the school. We have a small school here at MTA, but as you can imagine there are always interesting things going on!

until next time,

Kirby