Decline of the Canadian righteous

In the time of plenty, Canadians show a peculiar quirk. Last night, I had the extreme displeasure of witnessing the magnificent arrogant pomposity of a leading light of one of the New Democratic Party(NDP). Gerald Caplan hung his spiel on the program of a supreme media pompous ass, Steve Paikin.

Caplan flogged his book on Africa, the name of which I will not mention. Caplan waxed fondly on his magnificent contributions of caring. Paikin tossed the lob ball questions in a rehearsed sympathy. Smothered in hyperbole caring, Paikin seduced the book's regurgitating major themes about Africa. All the information contained therein is commonly known for the last 100 years. Caplan killed a lot of trees barfing up his whining data about the problems of Africa.

Yet this headlight of the party which claims to be the guardian of the vulnerable and depressed, walks draped in his own righteousness without failing to observe the abysmal failure of his own political stripe. For the last thirty five years the NDP remains kidnapped by a small clique of elite intellectuals with no grasp of the lower grades of society. Unions slowly abandon this small group of no good, do-gooders.

When formed the NDP was created by the group of gritty socialists and disinfected Liberals. They ate meat. They had fought in wars. They supported the military. They drank and drove. They hunted animals. They fished. They ate meat. They ate processed foods. They earned money working with their hands, not their mouths. They wanted universal health care. They sought safer workplaces. They believed that everyone should be housed. They wanted people to have viable and affordable access to justice. They worked to see that everyone could share in the wealth of Canada. They only bought Canadian made goods. They wanted jobs for all those who wanted to work. They wanted adequate support for those who weren't able to work. They cared about fellow Canadians without any tinge of whiny hypocrisy. They listened. How much changed the NDP now is.

Not meaning to portray the “Good Old Days”, rather to essay the divorce of political aims and the failure of NDP policy distancing its place from the common good. The Jack-off Layton portrays a righteousness arrogance that makes Stephen Harper look good. Worse, if you actually met him, you would know that and he still won the party leadership.

How-weird Hampton, of the Ontario provincial party cannot grasp the concept that he is not a good political leader. He makes McGuinty look good. How bad must one be to do that.

You see one cannot be mad at the Conservatives or Liberals. Inside the party meetings, they know that they are compromised jerks, they act like compromised jerks, and all their political acts proves that they are compromised jerks.

Today's NDP excel beyond jerk status. Caplan's great performance proved this. While he lines up for the poor of Africa, the poor of Canada are cast into deeper poverty. Two downtown food banks are closing before this summer during a period of time when fuel prices are literally driving food prices up beyond the level of affordable. He and his fellow NDP'ers wax fondly in academic arguments on Health Care. Increasingly the medical community with the assistance of the provincial government bureaucracy works to decrease and marginalize the health care that the poor have access to.

While transsexuals have gained funding for sex change operations, the Ontario provincial government and the responsible minister George Smitherman have reduced funding for families on welfare. They eliminated the Winter Clothing Allowance and a monthly grant to each child. They claim a federal tax credit will mostly cover this withdrawal of funds. Ironically the mean federal Conservatives came up with an idea to actually boost the income of the poorest families, and the provincial Liberals clawed this back.

Smitherman still brags about the withdrawal of the Special Diet funding for thousands who need it. He considers a feather in his political cap. Ask him.

And the bad news still pours in as the City Council of Toronto led by that champion of the poor, Mayor David Miller, fixes its new pay scale at least 25% higher refuse to add funds to social action. Due to his leadership, one quarter of the Regent Park residents lost their homes. Their homes were seized to provide low cost housing for middle income supporters of the NDP and the city government. They are literally destroyed a community because it housed poor people not worthy of belonging to the city of Toronto and its image.

Everyday people are loosing their homes in Toronto. The city and provincial have reduced funding resulting in closing half of the homeless shelter spaces in the downtown area of Toronto during the last twelve months. The first act of the Miller regime was to bar homeless people from gathering in Nathan Phillips Square. Miller claims a political affinity with the NDP. Some affinity. Such a friendship leads to the conclusion that the NDP is the new enemy of the Canadian poor, the Canadian worker.

A new high water mark will be achieved this summer in Toronto. While people yell that the Toronto Transit is an essential service, the Meals-on Wheels program is ceasing operations since the cost of fuel exceeded any funding given to it. The aged, shut-ins and poor who trapped in homes will face certain malnutrition perhaps even starvation. Yet this is considered less essential because it serves the poor. All this occurring under the seats while hypocritical pompous people like Miller, Caplan, and Paikin twaddle about Africa on the other side of the planet.

Damn Blue Lines

After listening attentively to Prime Time Sports on May 20/08. The discussion was about hockey's problems. As much as I hate one pill solutions, there maybe a single rule change that would go a long way to address them. Whether or not anyone agrees with such a change, it would make for interesting discussion on Prime Time.

The fundamental arguments were too long to call in on a phone line show. To the hockey “purists”, the knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss the idea outright without listening to the arguments. The simple single rule change is to “Remove the Blue Lines.”

I am trying to keep the outline as small and concise as possible. The simple solution covers a lot of territory though.

Basic Problems in Hockey

In no particular order, basic hockey problems as discussed on Prime Time:

1. The continuing appeal to the USA audience. Part of this making hockey more “television” friendly.

2. Speed of the game and length of the games.

3. Fighting.

4. Officiating.

5. Goalie equipment.

6. Defense. e.g. The Trap and the dominance of defense in today's game.

7. Ice size.

8. Tie games.

9. Offense eg. More goal scoring.

10. Number of players.

These are problems that have crept into the game over the years. So basically the nature of the game has changed while the fundamental rules have not managed to keep up. Historically, the response to these evolutions generated even more rules. In effect these rule changes contributed to make the rules governing the game more onerous, more complex and more difficult for officials to apply in a faster game.

Observations

A... American audiences don't like complexities. Especially on television. Canadian audiences grow up with the game and are very familiar with the nuances of the “Blue Line Offside.”

When the Fox Network tried to promote the game in the USA, they believed that their audience couldn't follow the puck. So the mind masters applied a technical solution, which was colorizing the puck travel. The effect on the televised game was hysterical.

Actually, I found that most neophyte fans follow the puck, while Canadians follow the man with the puck. This is only because the Canadian viewer grew up with the game and its nuances. If one sits with immigrants who have never been exposed to the game tend to to the tennis thing and follow the puck. This confuses neophytes because many penalty calls, and offside calls are generated by players away from the puck.

B... The physique and skill levels of players are now much larger than a generation ago. The disparity of talent level between the worst and the best National Hockey League players is far less than a generation ago. The size of the National Hockey League ice sheets have not gone to the international size. One would think that it would have been mandatory for the new arenas to accommodate the potential for the larger ice sheet.

Another answer tendered has been to reduce the numbers of on ice skaters from 5 to 4. But this idea has not been palatable to many commentators and fans.

C... Attention spans of most television viewers is much shorter than it used to be. Most hockey games last about three hours when both the television networks and the live spectators really focus on two hour, to two and a half hour games.

D... Many fights occur shortly after a stoppage in play.

Hypothesis and effects

The proposition is to eliminate the “Blue Line” off side and indeed the Blue lines altogether. What would be the effect on the game?

Recently the NHL has eliminated the use of the center “Red Line”. The effect on the game has meant fewer stoppages. Logically, elimination of the Blue Lines would further reduce the numbers of stoppages on the game. This speeds up the game dramatically since a high proportion of present stoppages are related to the Blue Line offsides. More playing time in the game would be devoted to playing, not facing off.

Reduction of these stoppages would also mean a decline in fighting since there would be fewer face offs where trash talk occurs. Teams would also focus on players that combine speed and fitness which usually isn't the province of the classic goons.

Without the need for calling the offsides, this eliminates the need for any linesmen. You can reduce the number of officials on the ice. Removing the Blue Line offside aids on the remaining two referees being able to focus on actual physical infractions instead of devoting added observational stress on accessing on whether or not a play is offside. Indeed, it may be possible to reduce the numbers of actual on ice officials by use of modern technology. One referee can be on the ice, and another (both connected by radio) sitting in an observation booth off the ice.

In the latter case, with an on ice official, and with an off ice official, fewer plays would be halted by the puck striking an official. One official must be on the ice to drop the puck in the case of face offs. This would tremendously improve the observations of officials on play, reduce accidental intrusions by officials. The off ice official also calls penalties and can easily monitor any replays. With two less bodies on the ice that were in part there to monitor offsides, there is more room on the ice for play.

The net effect is to both speed up the game, make it more efficient from both a time and officiating perspective. To the television networks this would be a plus. Indeed, one is looking at a two hour versus a three hour game.

Another likely effect of the removal of the Blue Line Offside is an increase in scoring. The Trap defense depends on being able to push the puck carrier into a tight position in the center area or a spot where a check can be made. Instead of trapping and zone defenses the defending team would find the man to man defense a preferable option.

Historically, the reason that Red and Blue lines were introduced in the early part of the last century to even competition. The spread of player talent and player skill level was more profound in the time that those rules were introduced. One must remember that originally hockey's only lines were the goal crease and goal line. Street hockey or Shinny Hockey is much closer to the original design of the game than the rule intensive modern game.

In Shinny, there is no offsides. The goalie or goal player is far more active on defense and offense. The game is more fluid, rarely stops and has fewer fights due to the need to constantly perform on the puck/ball more effectively. The Shinny version of hockey is far simpler to understand.

Removing the Blue Lines would also make television viewing much easier, the game would be far faster in tempo, the goal scoring opportunities far greater and the game far easier to understand. It would be all action.

One of the greatest issues has been ice size. By removing the Blue Line Offside you increase the Offensive area of hockey play without the costly issue of renovating arenas, or reducing the numbers of on ice players.

Now one of the greatest dilemmas that modern hockey has encountered, has been the material improvement in goalie equipment enabling goalies to wear greater protection with far larger equipment without a comparable increase in weight. In real life it has meant that the modern goalie literally fills the net. The athletic goalie of the past has been replaced by the butterfly style of goalie.

Removal of the Blue Lines would also dramatically effect the goalie. While the butterfly goalies have much larger padding they have lost mobility. In the Shinny style of hockey to prevent the cherry picker pass, goalies must come out to play the puck. They are the only ones allowed to play within their creases. Outside the crease though they are allowed to play the puck.

There is one good reason for this. In Shinny, any cherry picking scorer will be marked by the goalie. In effect this means that the defending team in the other end of the rink will be put in the position of a power play situation. Anyone who has played Shinny knows that a cherry picking player is almost more annoying to their own defending team as it is to the offensive team.

Much the same thing happens in Basketball. Cherry picking remains a minor problem because the defense must present an equal number of players. Also anyone who has played Basketball and Shinny knows that trap play is very difficult because if the puck carrier manages to pass out of the trap there will be always a three or four on two situation. The only way to compensate for this is to get an extra player involved on the defense and that has to be the goalie.

If the NHL removed the Blue Lines the present day teams would be confronted by one of two choices. If they opt for a stay at home butterfly goalie, then that arrangement will not be favorable in defending the offensive rush since the defenders cannot trap the puck carriers on the blue lines. If there is a cherry picker goal scorer then any long pass will mean a free shot on the net (with goalie).

This means that with the need for a more flexible and mobile goalie playing out of the net, equipment size must be reduced. Butterfly goalies in full size equipment are not mobile enough. The large trap glove must be reduced to enable the goalie to put both hands on any stick. To a Shinny style of game the present day butterfly goalies are more like sitting duck goalies.

Conclusions

Removal of the Blue lines enhances the television experience. How?: It is addition by subtraction. The change generates a more fluid, more goal scoring game in these ways:

It adapts the game to a better television compatible format.

It heightens the entertainment level of the game.

It generates more excitement in the offensive play.

It will generate more goal scoring.

It doesn't eliminate the Trap but it does make it far more risky and difficult to apply.

It creates more playing room on the same size of ice sheet.

It shortens game length.

It reduces the numbers of on ice officiating.

It literally makes officials more efficient.

It reduces fighting.

It forces the goalies to use smaller equipment to enable their mobility.

It again favors the more athletic, good skating goalie.

Help China

Aid flooded into China in the aftermath of the earthquake. At the same time, two food banks have closed in downtown Toronto in the middle of the poorest of the areas.

Apparently the city and provincial politicians have quietly withdrawn funding for these basic services. And this at a time when food and necessities should increase by about 10% this year. All this due to the outrageous increase in energy prices. These events get no Canadian media coverage.

Updeights

Without a permanent connection to the internet, it has been difficult to maintain a constant timely flow to the blog. Not that there is any particular shortage of material to write about. In a country filled with political buffoons like this its almost nigh impossible.

No doubt Canada is closing in the number one position. The Italians are starting to feel challenged in this department.

I have been working on the Memory topic. Its not very long. Just a high content, high complex sort of topic. In many ways I should not have started on that.... whatever it was.