Reply #68: oh dear oh dear oh dear [View All]

[iverglas]

I went home, and as I stood chopping shallots to add to the orange-lime pork tenderloin, I though: oh my, what if this person was actually parodying himself, and I didn't get it?! What if the paranoia and ignorance of / lack of interest in the outside world were a put-on and meant as a joke? - and actually not a bad one, if perhaps clumsily executed. Shall I rush back over to my office and apologize profusely, and chuckle appreciatively?

And then I thought: good grief, how am I supposed to know when it's a parody and when it's reality?? They look exactly the same.

And damned if things aren't just as I originally thought.


For the record:

The Ontario polls closed at 8 p.m. last night. By a little after 8:30, enough votes had been counted in enough constituencies that it was clear that the Liberal Party had won a majority government. (Three parties have seats in the 103-seat legislature, therefore there was a possibility of a minority government if the seats were split, say, 50-40-13. The actual split is now 72-24-7, although the Liberals, with 72/103 seats, have less than 50% of the popular vote. If seats were distributed proportionately, the NDP would have close to 20 rather than 7, and the Green Party would have maybe 3 rather than none.)

While we hate the Liberals, we hate the Tories far more, and while we would have been happier with a minority government, we take what we get. So we cracked the champagne anyhow, to toast the end of nearly a decade of vicious right-wing provincial government and a return to some semblance of Canadian governance: a sharing of burdens and benefits, rather than the mean-mindedness and greed that these Conservatives personified.

We may not be quite as thrilled as you folks would be if you thrashed Dubya at the polls -- even if you didn't think that the Democratic Party was the peak of perfection; but think how that would feel, and you get an idea of how we feel this morning.


Ontario has a population of about 11.5 million people. There are 6.7 million people in the "Golden Horseshoe" alone (Toronto and the region around it, extending to Niagara Falls). It is one of the most racially / culturally / ethnically diverse populations on the planet.

In 2002, there were 178 homicide victims in Ontario, a homicide rate of 1.47/100,000 (an increase from 170 and 1.43/100,000 in 2001, but hardly a signficant one). From 1992 to 2001, the number and rate averaged 182 and 1.63/100,000.

Ontario's population size is comparable to the populations of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois (which run from somewhat over 11 to somewhat over 12 million, I believe), with similar population patterns, i.e. heavily/densely urban, and similar economic bases. Ontario is of course very much larger geographically, but the population is concentrated in the southern area, which is comparable in size to those states.

1998 homicide rates in those states, taken from http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_rtcstates.html for good measure, were:

Illinois: 8.4/100,000 (1,008 homicides)
Ohio: 4.0/100,000 (443 homicides)
Pennsylvania: 5.3/100,000 (633 homicides)

Yup, there are lots of differences between Ontario and those states that relate to factors affecting the homicide rate.

And the availability of firearms is one factor.

.