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Are we hyped up enough for another election

This week's Hammertime considers the upcoming federal election.

Here we go again into another election, one that will this time feature tow and a half torrid months of red hot campaigning, all sorts of promises, and the usual barrage of verbal shots and exchanges on the way to choosing our next members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of our Canada. This 42nd Canadian general election has been set for Monday, Oct. 19, 2015 so that all of the parties and their candidates will have lots of time to prepare their platforms to present to all of our mostly frustrated taxpayers, and then hopefully conduct a spirited but honest and open campaign..

Of course, as always many questions and concerns will have to be answered before all the ballots can be cast and counted. These could include: Is the ‘Harper Ship’ startling to flounder in the rough and Duffy waters; is the young and Liberal Justin Trudeau following in his father’s flamboyant ‘fuddle duddle’ footsteps; is Mr. Mulcair ready to lead and the take the fast-moving ‘NDP wave’ all the way across Canada; and does the Bloc, the Green, The Strength in Democracy, and all the rest of the eligible parties have a chance of grabbing a seat or two on Parliament Hill this time around?

Many people across our nation are already asking if we can really afford an election in these tough economic times, and what plans this newly elected ‘power team’ will have in place to fix the current  precarious state of the union and the Loonie before this great nation of ours falls to far down in the world’s ‘teeter-tooter’ financial standings. Isn’t it about time that instead of all the before and after election bickering and back-benching from province to province that our federal government must start working a little closer together to stabilize our nation’s economy and deal head on with the vital issues of health, education, infrastructure and all the rest of which they are responsible for.  From the ongoing and vital subject of oil, why can’t they get busy and promote some pipelines running across Canada instead of spending millions chasing the age-old ‘pipe-dream’ into the United States, as well as passionately pooling and promoting more of our amazing resources and talents together to market and share with the rest of the world on the way to assuring a bright future for our vibrant present and future generations from sea-to-sea and border to border?

Whatever the case, all of our nation’s political parties will have now chosen their candidates for this current federal election race, the posters will go up on every street corner, and the forums and coffee chatter will go hot and heavy in every electoral constituency across our nation. In just 60 days, it will be up to each and every eligible voter in Canada to make the most important choice of our leaders for the next four years, and while the east will get an early start at the ballot boxes, let’s get out and make the prairies heard at the polls like never before.. By the way, just for our information, the results of the last federal election in 2011 realized an overall voter turnout of 61.1 per cent  of the eligible voters, with Alberta placing 10th with 56.4 per cent showing up at the polls, and what a great opportunity it is to be able to exercise our freedom of choice.

Now let’s have a little fun

*A young man was visiting his pretty blonde girlfriend when she surprised him with the presentation of her two new puppies. After petting the fluffy little critters, he asked her what she had named them, and she proudly replied with the names ROLEX and TIMEX., to which the guy quickly asked, ‘Who-ever heard of someone naming dogs like that?’ The young lady quite abruptly answered..... ‘What-eeeeeeever......they’re WATCH DOGS..

*The six best doctors are: Fresh air, exercise, water, rest, good diet and sunshine, and they are all absolutely free with no appointment required.

*The worst thing about growing old is listening to your children’s advice. There’s not much wrong with the younger generation that becoming a parent and a taxpayer won’t cure.

*Sure signs which make some of us realize that we may be getting a little older. The first thing in the morning we still love to rise and shine, but just not at the same time. Many of us so fondly remember as children when we loved the sound of snap-crackle and pop from our cereal bowl, but that is often now coming from our body when we get out of bed. When we were our grandchildren’s age, we had to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel, but now they have to get up and search all over the house to try and find one of the three remotes.

Don’t forget to take the whole family to the Ponoka Agricultural Fair on Aug. 21 and 22 at the Ponoka Legion, stop to smell the roses and taste the treats, and have a great week, all of you.