The End of the Semester

I can’t believe that this semester has come to an end. I have almost completed the first half of this grad program and I can’t believe how quickly it has gone by. It seems like only yesterday I was nervous about how hard this program was going to be and how swamped I was going to be with work. To be honest it has been hard but I feel that I have been able to stay ahead of my work load and get everything done on time. Working in groups has been both rewarding and frustrating as some groups have worked out so well and others have failed completely. This program is both rewarding and frustrating as I have seen myself grow as a student and seen others stunted by some problems in the program. The simple fact is that there needs to be some time of admission requirements beyond holding a diploma or a degree. To remain competitive with other CC and PR programs in the province this program needs to be cut in about half and those in it should be the best applicants based on a written test and an interview. Simply accepting everybody into this program means that people who worked hard all year will graduate this program with the same certificate as those you simply skated by on the work of others. Although these people will eventually get found out in the work place it will devalue our diploma until Fanshawe comes to it senses and sees the value in making this program competitive

The Fall of Stephen Harper

It seems like the fall of Stephen Harper is coming closer and closer. Yesterday the Bloc, NDP and the Liberal Party signed a coalition pact to form a new government when the Conservative Government is brought down in a vote on December 8th. Clearly the Opposition has lost confidence in the ability of the government to function and has found a way to function at least in the short term. Canada does not have a history of coalition governments but countries in Europe such as Germany and Switzerland have a long history of cooperative coalition government. I have seen alot of outrage from people who hold a conservative view point who think this is the worst thing to happen to Canadian Politics. I have seen editorials calling this a coup and other blown out of proportion phrases. How can you compare a military overthrowing a legitiamte government in a violent action with a peaceful transition to power. If the Conservatives wanted to avoid this fate they should have moved toward the center when it comes to policy and gained a majority government. Politics is a constant game of “why didn’t I think of that.” When a party or a candidate does something innovative or bold, the others parties are quick to criticize because they are simply mad that they did not think of it first. The coalition might not last too long but it is important for Canadians to give it a chance to succeed where the Conservatives failed

Obama and Communications

The recent United States Presidential election has truly highlighted the role that effective communications can play in a running a successful campaign be it local, state/provincial or federal. The Obama campaign from the very beginning seemed to understand the new media outlets and mediums available to the candidates. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace played a major role in reaching an apathetic and disenfranchised segment of the population who had been ignored by politicans since the campaign of Bill Clinton. When the negative attacks began to mount from the Republican Party the Obama team did an excellent job of judging the political climate of the electorate and instead of sinking to the juvenile level of their attackers chose to rise above. In response they Obama campaign issued straight forward and simple denials of even the most outrages claims. The Obama campaign has been cited by even Republican strategists as a near perfect campaign and I feel this has a lot to do with how the communications were handled by those closest to President-Elect Obama. Those seeking public office in the future would be wise to keep this in mind, defense might win championships but effective communications wins Presidencies.

The Pickens Plan

I was watching the Daily Show the other night and the guest was T Boone Pickens who is one of the richest oil men in North America. What sets Mr. Pickens apart as an Oil man is hat he no longer wants the United States to rely on Oil and especially foreign oil. The Pickens plan calls for the use of a mixture of Wind Power and Natural Gas both of which the United States has in abundance. The plan calls for over one trillion dollars to be invested in wind power so that America’s natural gas resources can be focused on the automobile indusrty. I heard a little bit about this plan from watching CNN and seen some of the commericals launched by the Pickens plan but watching him speak was a real eye opening moment. Here was an Oil Baron, a man who has made a vast fortune by environmentally questionable operations telling us we need to stop.

Citizens and those in Public Office need to read this plan and realized they need to get behind this. Not only does this plan help ween America off of Oil from the Middle East and Africa where the money from our purchases fuel sectarian and religious conflicts but it allows America to take a big step towards combating climate change. The third big bonus of this plan would be the potential millions on jobs that would be created in the manufacturing and construction sectors. These jobs would be needed to create and install the infrastructure nessesscary to get the massive wind turbines up and running. Not to metion the workforce needed to maintain and run this new industry.

The Pickens Plan needs to happen and there is no simpler way to say that. America needs to take drastic steps to secure enegery independence and this would be an historic and important first step.

For More on the Plan check out the website

http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php

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