No Matter Who You Wanted, A Quiet Christmas Is Best For Everybody

Well, I said I wouldn’t blog about this topic again until something interesting happens, and I think this qualifies. As this bloggers writes via Damian Penny: “Stephen Harper must have been born with a shamrock up his ass. He started this week looking like he was going to be thrown out on his ass, and he’s going to end it with an even more damaged Liberal party.” One might hope that everyone has learned something from this, and that it will not encourage Stephen Harper to go forward with more calculated risks. But it does seem as though the gambit may bear the fruit of damaging the Liberal brand:

Doubts about the Liberals’ commitment to their coalition with the NDP are coming to light in the wake of Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean’s decision to grant Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s request to suspend Parliament.

Toronto MP Jim Karygiannis told reporters after emerging from the Liberal caucus meeting Thursday afternoon that he didn’t think the NDP-Liberal coalition would survive until Parliament resumes on Jan. 26.

“The coalition, the way that we’re going right now, won’t survive,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

There’s no mistake, however, that the proroguing of Parliament was a stay of execution, and the government isn’t out of the woods yet. But I am infinitely more satisfied that this government will either pass or fail on the merit of their budget in late January, and the Conservatives have until then to get their act together. They also have a chance to reach out to the opposition now [as Joanne sagely suggests], and show that they understand why the country almost faced revolt, and how they can reach across partisan lines to explain more clearly their intent and policy without seeming like they are trying to burn down the House.

The other reason I like this reprieve is that Canadians are worried enough about the economy and the fragility of our government possibly entering into a fourth election in three years. Polls seem to back this sentiment, as a new Ipsos-Reid poll shows a lack of favour for rash decisions:

Fully 60 per cent of those interviewed said they opposed replacing the government with Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the Bloc Quebecois, compared with 37 per cent who favoured the idea. Support for the coalition was highest in Quebec at 50 per cent, followed by 44 per cent in Atlantic Canada.

The poll indicates the prospect of the Dion-led coalition has prompted Canadians to rethink the value of an election so soon after the Oct. 14 poll. Fifty-six per cent said they would rather go to the polls than be governed by the coalition.

The poll also shows that the current crisis has favoured Stephen Harper to lead the country forward over a coalition led by Stephane Dion. This must cross partisan lines, since those in favour of Prime Minister Harper polled at 59%. Even if the government comes back with an unacceptable budget on January 27, 2009, the next election may finally prove the worth of the Conservative Party and a majority mandate. A CBC-Ekos poll shows that the Conservatives are now polling at 44% of the public, while the Liberals are down to 24, and the NDP plummeted to 14.5. When all is said and done, the Canadian public may return the Conservatives a majority mandate in the next election, whenever that might be, now that the knowledge that the opposition parties are willing to unite at any cost is known to all Canadians.

addthis_url=”; addthis_title=”; addthis_pub=’raphaelalexander’;

To All The Parents Of Boys Out There

Now that this ridiculousness has had a stay of execution, I might finally be able to diversify my blogging again. About time, too, since I think I was suffering from exhaustion on the topic.

I actually wanted to get personal for a moment, if I could, and ask other parents for some advice regarding my seven year-old son. Without getting too fine on the details, he’s a very bright, very avid learner at school, and is already well on the way to bilingualism [a skill I wish I had]. But he’s had behavioural issues at school since he was five, and can’t seem to learn that hitting other children isn’t acceptable. Worse than this, he has a lot of friends who are girls, but when he gets angry he hits them or scratches them, which leads to a perception he’s a bully with girls.

Needless to say this is all very embarrassing with other parents, and I try to make them understand that he’s not normally like this at home. But what I can’t figure out is why he acts this way at all. My wife and I have tried everything to make him understand that hitting isn’t acceptable, and we thought it was a phase he would mature past. But he isn’t, and so he’s getting in trouble at school every day. It’s a shame because he’s a very smart kid, and quite agreeable at home, but he just can’t seem to hold his temper at school. My wife and I have tried reading parenting books, rewards, punishments, incentives, goals, daily chats, and switching classes for him. But it just doesn’t seem to make him remember.

Are there any parents with similar problems with their boys, either now or in the past when your own children were young? It’s a shame because when we arrived in B.C. we were welcomed into the local community, and now we’re losing friends because the parents seem to think we’re not able to control our son, or that he’s learning something from us. Advice is most welcome!

addthis_url=”; addthis_title=”; addthis_pub=’raphaelalexander’;