Leading off.

From a meteorological standpoint, a comparison of the weather in late June and early November is usually about as similar as a jalapeno pepper to a cucumber. But from a political standpoint, it appears as though these two time lines have more in common regardless of one's opinion or taste.

For indeed whether it was November 5, 2003, or June 28, 2004, a pair of messy, fear-mongering campaigns--one at the hands of the provincial NDP and the other by the federal Liberals--created a similar result, albeit in a different fashion. Unfortunately, both of these campaigns were desperate attempts by those in power to do whatever it took to hang onto power, and probably just as unfortunate, each of these attempts were successful.

And for anyone with a right-wing slant what-soever, including most people within business circles, even more troubling is that both of these smear campaigns resulted in the balance of power resting in the hands of the NDP. Indeed over the next four years or so (assuming a Martin minority government doesn't fall to a non-confidence vote) whether it's at the provincial or federal level, we can thank the NDP for what is to come.

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The provincial legislation, obviously, will be dictated by Lorne Calvert's slim majority, but federally, it's not quite status quo for Paul Martin's Liberals. As the leader of a minority government, he'll have to look for allies where they may be and the easiest to find will be Jack Layton's New Democrats. It's no coincidence that New Democrats operate with a union mentality, meaning they'll undoubtedly hold Martin over a barrel to get what they want. And getting what they want will surely result in higher taxes, an inflated public sector workforce, skyrocketing social spending, and outright submission to any and all unions.

Don't get me wrong, because intrinsically what the NDP stands for, is good. They were founded to fight the fight for the little guy and to fight for those who can't fight themselves; to make things better for the common man, to keep the poorest of poor fed and sheltered--all good and noble causes.

But let's take a reality check here. It's the 21st century, and Canada can hardly be considered a Third World country, nor is our economy reliant upon slavery or serfs, nor are we oppressed under a dictatorship. So then the battles that the left wing now chooses to engage itself in, is basically with anybody who does what they can to increase their personal wealth and reduce their taxes--in essence, every business person who employs a tax reduction strategy.

Yet that tax reduction line which separates good from evil must surely be a blurred one, as I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that most of our good public servants take advantage of their pension plans--even if they're RRSP-eligible, which of course qualifies as a tax reduction strategy.

Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it? It seems more than just a little self-serving and hypocritical. Sort of like the pot calling the kettle black ... or a jalapeno trying to be as cool as a cucumber.

Keith Moen, Editor