First Conservative Government in 13 years

1. The first Conservative government in 13 years has been elected. It's a minority government though so political jossling is going to be interesting especially when it comes to passing bills. I started rubbing my hands together when I found out the numbers. I wasn't necessarily happy with the actual outcome but it sure is going to make things interesting. Plus, sometimes you need change to shake things up. I hope that Harper does what's best for Canada.

2. The Conservative government says they're going to re-open the same-sex marriage debate with a free vote in Parliament. Many Canadians consider the debate to be over and done with, whether they agree with it or not. So what's the point of going back to the debate? Well, Harper did say that he'd reopen it and, with a minority government, it doesn't seem likely that legislation to get rid of it would pass. So, Harper could say he tried but failed and that might make people on both sides of the debate happy. That's a pretty sneaky plan. Do you think Harper plays chess?

3. David Emerson defected from the Liberal party and became a Conservative, angering many people in his constituency. This is especially true for people at his riding office who want him to repay the money donated to help a Liberal get elected in Vancouver-Kingsway. Emerson thought people would be happy that he wanted to stay in office. I mean, why not shed loyalty for opportunism if it'll get you a job. But you know what, some Tories are pretty pissed about the whole thing. They were passed over for a former 'small l' Liberal. Now some are calling for him to resign or run in a bi-election.

After all, Ontario MP Harold Albrecht once campaigned on a promise saying MPs who cross the floor should have to run in a bi-election to confirm their allegiance to their promise to their new party. But now Albrecht seems to have changed his mind. "I expressed that, yeah. I would prefer that when someone crosses the floor they would have a byelection," he said Thursday. "But I want to talk to my colleagues about that."

It really doesn't matter to me who crosses the floor to what party because sometimes your views change or aren't in line with your own party's. But when you do it less than two weeks after a federal election, it just doesn't look good. It gives the impression or at least makes me think that Emerson had made up his mind before the election. That means he would have run as a Liberal, knowing he would defect and really that's lying to your constituents. The reason I say this is because I imagine that considering defection to another party would take longer than two weeks. Also, it makes the Tories look as if they're no better than the Liberals. And really, to me, the Tories have lost the high ground. There was all this talk of morals and cleaning up government. Well, didn't they want to get rid of the party that Emerson was from and now they're inviting him back in? As my good fried Spock would say, that is illogical.

Oh, and let's not forget the double standard here people. When Belinda Stronach crossed the floor many people said she was "whoring herself out for power". I suspect that this was said expressly and only because she was a woman. So now that a man has defected from a party, I want to see some stories saying the same thing where the word "gigolo" is used extensively in conjunction with Emerson's name. Equality for all right?

4. There's scandal in the NHL and it possibly might be linked to Wayne Gretzsky and his wife. His assistant coach for the Phoenix Coyotes, Rick Tocchet is accused of running an illegal gambling ring. Say it aint so Great One!

The investigation is still ongoing and Gretzky hasn't been charged with anything, neither has his wife. He said he doesn't know if his wife was involved with the ring but wouldn't you know if your spouse was gambling with thousands of dollars? Thousands of your dollars? Anyway, something that's more worrying is what's going to happen at the Olympics. Gretzky is the general manager for the men's hockey team heading to Turin and his job has been called into question. For now he's going to stay the general manager but some people have said that he should step down if he indeed was involved with the illegal gambling. Others are saying that this might hurt the men's chances to win gold because the issue might be distracting. All I'm saying is if anyone, and I do mean anyone is planning on betting on the Men's Hockey Team, don't be so quick to judge. The Canadian head ice-maker for the hockey rink, Dan Craig, said he wouldn't be putting a loonie in the ice. For those of you that believe in luck, you know what that special coin did for the men's and women's hockey teams in Salt Lake.

I don't think that the loonie really had any bearing on the outcome of the games but it has developed into a tradition that's been used by various teams in various sports. And besides I like the idea of it. So here's to hoping someone continues the tradition and sneaks a loonie or even a toonie under the ice.