Fuddle Duddle

Give it up Steve

2010-09-23T09:50:00.001-04:00

After last night’s gun registry vote, Stephen Harper did two disservices to this great country.

Dividing Canada between rural and urban Canadians is misguided and is not different from pitting Quebecers vs. the rest of Canada.

Second, can one reporter ask Stephen Harper the following question: If you can have as many votes as you want on the gun registry, can the PQ also have as many referendums as they want until they get the right result? I would greatly appreciate someone doing that.

Stephen Harper gave the Bloc a double dose of ammunition. He will do whatever it takes to get 155 seats in the House no matter what it means to everybody else.

It’s shameful. It’s stupid. It’s divisive. You don’t get much more un-Canadian than that do you Steve?

Just do better!

2010-06-04T13:12:00.000-04:00

Enough of this coalition talk. The Liberal party governed Canada for most of the last century due in part to the swagger they displayed while governing. The Liberals knew what was good for Canadians. People called it arrogant, but it also came with results.

We all know the Liberals have done this country a great service. Liberals governed with the NDP for 2 years in the 1970s because they had to, not because they wanted to.

If the LPC had no chance to win any elections until the end of time, I would consider a coalition. Until then, lets cross that bridge when we get there.

I was a vocal opponent of the comments made by the current president of the Young Liberals of Canada. I respect him. We disagree all the time. That is probably why I consider him a good friend. We can tell the other person when their shit stinks.

The media is looking for a sexy story and the G8 security boondoggle isn’t nearly as interesting as the two opposition parties merging. But wait you say. Sam never talked about a merge. I know! But Harper did and the media ran with it.

Jane Taber wanted to keep the story alive and she did just that. The Liberals had to disavow Sam’s statement. The party started throwing rocks at each other (in public) again. Overall, it let Harper off the hook. Was it done purposefully? I doubt it. However, the results were predictable, with the story still alive today thanks to has-been Scott Reid’s quixotic (h/t Jeff Jedras) rant against a merge in today’s Globe and Mail.

Let me clarify a couple of things. A merger is off the table. However, a pre-election coalition IS a merger for all intents and purposes. Since all these talks are PRECEDING an election, it’s not hard to see why everybody put two and two together.

Second, a party that gets rejected by voters should not get to form government. Labour and the Lib Dems could have formed their own coalition. Gordon Brown wasn’t interested because he got the message from the electorate. Harper should be allowed to govern in another minority should the situation arise.

What is the solution? Work harder. The Young Liberals have been devoid of meaningful policy since Star Wars was defeated back in 2005 (with a big helping hand from the LPC’s other major policy organ, the Women’s Commission, whose Quebec wing ALL love Fuddle Duddle! Hello ladies!)

We passed a resolution that year spearheaded by former Fuddle Duddle contributor Denise Brunsdon. Bold policy that wasn’t always accepted by the party, but it kept the chains moving so to speak. I haven’t seen one major policy initiative since 2006 from the YLC.

It took a lot of hard work to build the LPC. It is going to take a lot of hard work to get it back. We need to all make a pledge today to DO BETTER. We need to do our best to do better.

Today, I, Anthony Di Domizio, pledge to do better.

Liberals Finally Join the Culture War

2010-04-28T11:30:00.003-04:00

“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."
-Leon Trotsky

The war began a long time ago. The Liberals are finally taking the field.

The signs are there. Abortion rights, the gun registry, Liberal press releases filled with statements about Canadian values and how the Tories do not respect them.

Welcome to the trenches. We may be here for a while.

iAwesome

2010-01-30T02:33:00.001-05:00

THE YEAR IS 2010!

I roll out of bed and head to the kitchen to make some toast. My newspaper is waiting for me at the table. It was delivered there this morning. I read the articles I choose and move on to my favourite book, a political thriller that I can read with my sleepy brain still at half capacity. I can also check my emails and go through my blog roll. I check what time my bus comes and have yet to get up from my kitchen table.

Let's face it, people like convenience, getting my newspaper sent to my fingertips every morning along with a good book, the STM bus schedule and my favourite websites is pretty darn convenient. I can do all this on my iPhone right now, except the screen is really small. I can also do this on a desktop PC or laptop, but those need to boot up. The versatility that the iPad brings to very mundane things is something I cannot wait to experience.

Take the newspaper. If it sent to my iPad every morning, it costs them absolutely nothing in printing or delivery costs and I get to save a few trees in the process. Newspapers will be able to lower subscription rates, but still put ads in my face and make their money. I can also browse several newspapers in a day, especially if I can do it on the move without pulling out a bunch of papers. I can save and email articles with the touch of a finger, spreading the news and ad revenue to my friends. Will it save newspapers? Maybe. Will it allow them to get more eyeballs on their articles? Absolutely.

As for the iBooks, I await this new feature with great anticipation. I buy a lot of books, and I read almost all of them from cover to cover. They pile up in my house and I give some away to local libraries but it still stacks up. Imagine how much a publisher can save if he can send me a book for 5$, without having to pay the price of printing it, shipping it, warehousing it, and displaying it in a store. Look at how much money we save just by ordering hard copies online. Imagine if we did not need to print the books! And it saves a butt load of paper. Every sale of an iBook minus the fee paid to Apple will be pure profit, just like it is with iTunes.

How long will it take for computer techies to put their expensive textbooks online? The cost of college textbooks nearly amounts to the price of an iPad per year. Except on these textbooks, I can highlight with my fingers and add notes where I want them, without having to carry a bulky schoolbag full of books. If I need to change subject or textbook I press two buttons and I can pick up where I left off. Apple knows their market, young people, mostly students, will find a way to use this gadget to save a lot of money over the course of their studies. The price is peanuts when you compare the actual cost of textbooks. These companies will need to adapt quickly and offer their textbooks on iBooks before they feel the brunt of piracy that the music industry has suffered over the last decade.

This is just the beginning and I haven't even gotten to the apps yet. The iPad has the potential to change the world by saving one heck of a lot paper and get people reading again. While many will still watch TV or movies on it, the simple availability of the news and current events at our fingertips (literally) can only help at a point where society is becoming more and more disengaged. I can't wait to get my hands on mine. I hope you will too.

37 days of gong show...

2010-01-08T23:04:00.002-05:00

As I stood in line at RBC today to pay my credit card (yea im old school), I thought about how awesome it would be to be able to prorogue things.

I got to the teller and asked her to prorogue my credit card payment. Thinking I had said pay my credit card, she asked me how much I was paying. I told her I was proroguing my Visa bill and would pay her in 37 days. I needed to figure out how I was going to get out of the economic hole I put myself into buying Christmas presents and could not watch the Olympics with pesky collections agents calling me all the time. She had a sense of humor about it and proceeded to explain to me how much it would cost me to shut everything down for 37 days.

That got me thinking as to how much my tax dollars were paying Tory MPs to watch the Olympics.

All salary figures are from 2008

The Prime Minister makes 310 000$

A Cabinet minister makes 230 000$

An MP takes home 155 000$

37 days is exactly 10% of the year (How convenient! We just need to remove a zero)

31000 x 1

+ 23000 x 35 Cabinet Ministers

+ 15500 x 109 Tory backbenchers

2 525 500 Taxpayer dollars

The Conservative government is spending 2.5 million dollars of your hard earned money sitting at home and watching the Olympics. They are not paying you to stay home and watch the Olympics. They want you to go to work and pay your taxes so they can stay home and waste your money watching television.

I paid my Visa bill today. I also bought a bus ticket to Ottawa for January 23rd. Enough is enough. We need to tell Stephen Harper that when you dont show up to work for 37 days, you get fired!

Note to French Newspapers: Anglos will not vote for a candidate who refuses to speak English

2009-11-03T08:41:00.002-05:00

There is an article in this morning's Le Devoir, bemoaning the fact that anglophones and allophones made up a large part of Gerald Tremblay's victory Sunday night.

"Leur conclusion? La victoire à l'arraché de Gérald Tremblay a été possible grâce à deux facteurs: la langue des électeurs et le poids des anciennes villes qui ont intégré Montréal."

Translation: Their conclusion? Gerald Tremblay's victory, won by the skin of his teeth, was thanks to two factors: the language of the electors and the weight of the merged municipalities (that didnt demerge)

They are complaining that anglophones exercised their vote in favor of Tremblay. I will give the same history lesson I gave to my friend John Lennard, who at the time was leaning toward Harel.

Louise Harel, with her friends in the Parti Quebecois, have built their careers eroding the rights of anglophone Canadians living in Quebec. Whether it be education rights, blocking skilled immigrants from settling here for not speaking French, pursuing businesses for having signs that are of equal size in English parts of Quebec, the Parti Quebecois has taken every possibility to eliminate the anglophone presence in Quebec, especially with their infamous language police (kept by the provincial liberals). That's right. We have a police. The criminal is English...

One of the reasons I love Jean Chretien so much was based on something he once said at a Liberal convention I attended. He said that when he had the option of increasing rights or taking them away from people, it was up to the government to increase rights.

My friend John told me that he knew of Harel's PQ past and it would not influence his decision. I reminded him that if a party so callously disregarded the rights of one minority, nothing separates that from disregarding the rights of others. Would he feel the same way if Harel spent her life campaigning against the rights of gays or Blacks? Probably not. He voted against her, as any person who cares about rights should...

I will never vote for someone who campaigns to take away my rights or has done so in the past. If Louise Harel would apologize to anglophones for her efforts to diminish the anglophone presence in Quebec, I would consider voting for her.
Maybe I am asking for too much...

However, Harel refused to campaign in English at all during the campaign. Anglophones tried to set up a site called friends of Louise Harel and couldn't find any, so they bought some stock photos from the United States...(the irony is amusing)

Harel snubbed the anglophone community and Le Devoir and La Presse are SHOCKED that they didnt vote for her. They can blame the language barrier, but I challenge them to find an example of a majority of Quebec voters voting for someone who did not speak French.

La Presse and Le Devoir campaigned openly against Tremblay, pandering to their readerships and effectively becoming part of the problem. They do not bring up the fact that Harel did not campaign in these areas. They did not explain that Harel forced the merger of these communities in 2002, making her a despised figure in the suburbs. It is the fault of anglophones and allophones because they are not francophones...

I can only imagine what they would write if all the island municipalities were part of Montreal, the way Harel originally intended. A unilingual francophone is UNELECTABLE in that election. On the island of Montreal, anglophones and allophones make up over 50% of residents and well over 50% of homeowners, who vote far more often than tenants.

Montreal deserves a bilingual mayor. La Presse and Le Devoir should put that in their next diatribe...

Outremont Outburst Saps Liberal Support in Quebec: CROP poll

2009-09-30T02:06:00.001-04:00

Imagine if a poll was done post-Outremont explosion and pre-Denis Coderre meltdown.

CROP obliges...and it doesn't look good for Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals.

The Outremont fiasco erupted halfway through this polling period but it seems the party is dropping even faster than you can say green shift...

Ignatieff and the Liberals have their worst score in Quebec ever with 26%, only 2 points more than what Stephane Dion got last year, and 10 points behind their score in June. The Bloc moves up to 33%. Stephen Harper and the Tories nab 21%.

After Outremont, the Liberal Party is left without much of a ground game in Quebec. We will know soon how many of the precious few Quebec organizers are left with Denis Coderre out of the picture.

I have never been a huge fan of Denis Coderre, but I was one of many observers who noted that he busted his ass to help the Liberal Party in Quebec. Denis criss-crossed the province, going to as many nominations as he humanly could. Denis found many of the candidates, which may be easy for potential winnable ridings, but in the Liberal no man's land that is rural Quebec, getting qualified people to run for the party is a difficult task in and of itself.

While the English media completely tore Coderre to shreds over the Outremont issue, he was gaining sympathy among the French media, who he has spent years developing a close friendship. On the day Ignatieff put forward a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons, Coderre took center stage for the last time in a while, attempting in vain to both tear the OLO a new asshole and turn himself into a martyr.

While martyrdom and Denis Coderre should never be placed in the same sentence together, the people in IggyCentral in Ottawa have a couple of major problems. Coderre was the face of the party in Quebec for the last year. He was the party's main organizing force on the ground. There is now a hole that cannot be filled by Marc Andre Blanchard or Jean Marc Fournier. While both men are brilliant, neither are MPs or running for election. Both are providing strategic advice, not putting boots on the ground. As much as I love Brigitte Legault, she can't be the only Quebec Liberal on the ground until the Spring.

The second problem the Ignatieff people have is the willingness of party officials and bloggers to completely throw their own leader under a bus, never mind the Quebec Lieutenant. As much as I appreciate the fake outrage over closed nominations...let's be honest, this wasn't about closed nominations, but about Coderre's power play. The pissing contest, while misplaced, was not a reason to throw most of the party's Quebec organizational work over the last year out the window.

Day after day, Liberal media strategy was a mere waste of breath as many within the party turned their fire on one of their own. As much as Quebec Liberals appreciate the input of party members across the country, if the Quebec Liberal caucus and membership suddenly descended on an MP from another province with the fury seen in this situation, I am sure you would all be scratching your heads as well.

The Liberals cannot have another election right now. Not until they put fresh new blood on the ground in Quebec. Not until every Liberal is committed to getting Stephen Harper out of office. Not until Liberals give Michael Ignatieff a bit of room to manoeuvre. As long as people do not feel that the Liberals are prepared to govern they will not vote for them.

There is one silver lining in the CROP poll, the NDP lost 5 points, even more than the Liberals. The good news for the Liberal Party is that even with an political H-bomb exploding in the riding, Tom Mulcair will still lose.

Jack and Gilles

2009-09-15T22:22:00.002-04:00

Jack and Gilles went up the hill
to fetch a deal with Stephen
Jack fell down just like a clown
as all his voters listened

Up Jack got and home did trot
claiming he got Steve to dance
but in the end he could only pretend
that he really had a chance

Gilles came in and he did grin
adding the vote of the Bloc
with their support he could report
on Friday there'd be a menage-a-trois

Gilles did laugh and Jack did cry
as NDP hopes slipped away
Steve's alive, for now he's survived
but Michael Ignatieff will win the day.

Are the NDP and Conservatives Insane?

2009-08-10T15:24:00.001-04:00

This morning we hear that NDP bigwig Judy Rebick has a few words to say about the NDP, and Jack Layton including "I have kind of given on the NDP in terms of how they can change" and "the problem is who is running the party, I don't know who is running the party?" Probably realizing how WTF that previous statement was, she went on to blame the backroom boys and girls for trying to make the NDP a mainstream party...(gasp at the thought right?)

Judy is not going to the NDP convention this weekend and has given up on the NDP because even with a weak Liberal leader and a very unpopular government, they only inched ahead. She doubts they will ever be able to get to government. Rebick is known to many NDP supporters and leaners who have seen her on TV and the radio as a host or commentator. You can expect these comments she made coming soon to a 10%er or campaign flyer near you.

A few weeks ago, an article appeared from the Canadian Press touting the leadership abilities of Jason Kenney and his possible future as a Conservative Leader. The article mentioned Kenney's abilities and had a few unnamed anonymous sources musing openly about leadership when the Prime Minister has not even shown a sign of getting off that pot.

I was surprised to see the Tories doing this. Many Tories I spoke to did not dismiss the story. In fact, they either touted their own guy like MacKay, Prentice, even one Maxime Bernier supporter! Many also took the time to bash Jason Kenney. Nobody denied a leadership squabble. Most importantly, NOBODY DEFENDED HARPER.

Many are leaving the PMO and some are beginning to wonder why. One logical answer is they are setting up future leadership campaigns. We saw it with Martin and many Liberals remember how bitter the party became with each other when that open feud ripped open the Liberal Party.

NOTHING HURTS A PARTY MORE THAN A LEADERSHIP CRISIS

Why two political parties would start launching shots at each other on the cusp of what is likely to be an October election call seems like outright madness. When only one federalist party in Quebec takes on the Bloc, this doesnt end up so well for the sovereigntists either. As the summer ends (did it ever really begin) and the Parliamentary session approaches bet on two things

1) The Liberals will try and pry open these wounds and ignite civil war in the NDP and Conservative Party.

2) If it works, they are pulling the plug on the government and it will be up to somebody else to bail out Harper.

We all knew this was coming...

2009-07-30T00:10:00.003-04:00

Policy-As-You-Go

2009-07-20T12:36:00.001-04:00

I will always be a policy wonk at heart. There is an idea coming out of England known as "pay-as-you-save" where homeowners would pay off a retrofit loan with the money they save on energy due to the retrofitting.

Sounds easy doesnt it?

Here is how it works:

Joe buys a house. Joe finds out that by spending $5 000 retro-fitting his home, he can save 20$ a month. That is 240$ a year. Within 21 years, Joe would be saving money. However, Joe doesnt know if he will own his house in 21 years, so retrofitting the house just is not worth the risk. The "pay-as-you-save" loan takes the savings from retro-fitting the home and applies them to the loan. If Joe sells the house, he also sells the loan. After the loan is paid off, the house's value increases as it is energy efficient. If Joe has the need to move, he sells the loan with the house.

The British Plan requires banks to provide these loans. However, I personally don't see the issue with Environment Canada putting up the money. Let's face it, these are micro-loans. While the full costs for retro-fitting a home can be up to $20 000, some measures costs a little as a few hundred dollars. This is money that is directly injected into the economy that is 100% guaranteed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because less energy is spent. It may be the most direct way to turn money into reduced emissions while helping kickstart the green economy that Canada needs to be a part of.

The department needs to put up a website that is interactive. On that website, homeowners can find out what changes can be made and how much money these changes would save them. The homeowners can then make a decision as to what changes need to be made and how much these changes cost, depending on the region. Estimates are made and submitted for approval for a "pay-as-you-save" loan. Payment is determined by the amount of money that is expected to be saved on each energy bill.

Now to rebut a few arguments:

Anthony, this will require a huge bureaucracy to manage.

If consumers are choosing from government approved options, the loan approvals are pretty much automatic, provided a simple credit check is performed. The Canadian government has been managing loans for students and businesses for years. This is not a novel concept.

Anthony, what prevents people from taking the money and using it to buy a new car?

As the estimates themselves are approved by the department loan officer, the contractors can bill the government directly for the amount they estimated and are legally bound to do the work once they bill the government. This is also less headaches for the homeowners as well.

Anthony, what about people with new homes?

Getting this work done in new homes is far less expensive. However, I do not see how the extra cost cannot be used to apply for a pay-as-you-save loan to help alleviate some of the mortgage on the original cost of the home. Think of it as an incentive to get off to a good start.

I am open to other suggestions and questions. I am not proposing it to any particular party like some of my other blogging friends, like Scott who sent me the article over the weekend.

This is a good idea. It will help Canadians. It will help the economy. It will help combat greenhouse gas emissions.

Who knows? If this works, maybe pay-as-you-save loans can be applied to hybrid cars to bridge the extra cost, with savings at the pump applied for the first couple of years.

Eurotrip Cancelled

2009-07-17T10:49:00.002-04:00

Sweden's Migration and Asylum and Policy Minister Tobias Billstroem was quoted as saying that Sweden, as Chair of the EU until December, would be ready to slap retaliatory VISA requirements on Canadian citizens.

While some Canadians are wondering if Jason Kenney needs to become Minister of Migration and Asylum and Policy, or just Minister of Asylum, he inadvertently revealed what the problem was.

"We need to streamline the system to provide faster protection for real victims of persecution, while showing bogus claimants to the door much more quickly. Until we're able to come up with reforms along those lines, unfortunately, the visa policy becomes our only recourse,"

What Kenney is basically saying is he doesn't have a plan. It just seems so much easier to begin a diplomatic war with a NAFTA partner and the European Union than to come up with a solution to prevent all this.

After Harper's week of missteps at the G8 in Italy and now Kenney starting a spat with Mexico and the EU, it makes you wonder where the hell Lawrence Cannon is, and how much longer he will have to put up with this comedy of errors.

Things not to do Before Visiting the Pope

2009-07-08T11:42:00.002-04:00

Catholicism has (unfortunately) been a big part of my life growing up. When I was younger and had to attend the mandatory catechism classes, we were told just how important it was to be receiving the first communion.

One little girl asked what I thought was a brilliant question. She asked what to do if we weren’t hungry. The priest turned to her and said “If you throw away the body of Christ, you will burn in hell forever.” I know the wrath of refusing food because my nonna is just as unforgiving.

After reading this, I simply do not understand what the Prime Minister was thinking. Are the protocol people on vacation?

So a few days before setting off to Italy to meet with the G8 and then the Pope, the Canadian Prime Minister has managed to commit one of the biggest booboos possible.

For Harper’s sake I hope this isn’t true. Catholics take this kind of stuff very seriously. If he didn’t want to take it, he just had to stay in his seat when everybody else went up.

I would like to see how many Catholic priests will tell their parishioners to vote Conservative after this kind of flub. If Harper was embarrassed in front of the Pope for funding a pride parade in Toronto, he will really be squirming when he sits down with him next week.

Here’s a tip Steve for your upcoming visit, While in Italy, when someone gives you food, you eat it!

Update: It seems the Harper PR people are denying the story in the face of video evidence contradicting them. They recognize this as a big deal. Covering it up will probably only hurt them more.

Ethics...

2009-03-29T15:14:00.000-04:00

During the 7 “Liberal” years of my life, ethics were rather subjective. I had them when I needed them. Other than that, it was a game of “don’t get caught”.

I joined Concordia Journalism to break away from my political past. 3 campaigns/leadership races in direct succession had made me kinda crazy and very lost.

The program is one year long and I feel like I have learned a little bit about everything. As things wind down, Concordia wanted to teach us ethics before they sent us out into the unemployment lines.

I am put into situations weekly where my conscience is given a real test. Do I ruin somebody’s career to get a story? Do I present the facts in a way that help the flow of my article? Do I report a story from an anonymous source whose only interest is a rumor getting out there?

A year ago, I would have answered yes to all three questions. Call it the effect of partisan politics I guess. I spared nobody in all my Anti-Rae posts or my ridiculing of Dion and Monsieur Kennedy. If I could gain an edge back then, I did.

In a dogfight with the PQ and ADQ, I would never have thought twice about blogging anything fairly. Screw that! I used to think…

As the haze has faded over time, and the ethics I had put aside for all those years come back to me, I am beginning to understand the real hold that politics can have on some people. It is a very good thing that I took a year off politics before entering journalism school.

A friend of mine from my Liberal days MSN’ed me the other day about how he had converted to Iggymania. Naturally he thought I would be thrilled.

Just because im not involved doesn’t mean I don’t follow it. So I asked him what about Ignatieff brought him on board. I mean, 2006 was loaded with policy and ideas (like the nation and a carbon tax).

Now Ignatieff is really coasting on rhetoric and big crowds… (Hey, it worked for Obama right…)

After thoroughly confusing my friend, I got to thinking why I was no longer as enthusiastic about Ignatieff or the Liberals.

It dawned on me. Iggy 1.0 was far different than Iggy 2.0

Let’s face it. Two years ago Ignatieff knew academia and journalism but he was no politician. He started the two biggest policy debates in Canada. The nation debate cost him the leadership. The Carbon Tax cost the Liberals 40 seats.

Michael brought an approach to politics where people used logic and reason to wade through discussions and discourse. He was willing to tackle the sacred cows of Canadian politics.

He addressed Paul Martin’s cuts to transfer payments.

He addressed Quebec’s longing for recognition.

He addressed the dogmatic adherence to Medicare.

He addressed the need for REAL action on climate change and not lip service.

Now he is coy…he plays the politicians quite well…

My friends had been telling me Michael was supposed to deliver a knockout speech to the crowd in Laval a couple of weeks ago. I decided to stay away. It still is too soon for me to be returning to Liberal events.

I watched it on TV. I saw Michael Ignatieff, the politician…not Michael Ignatieff, the journalist.

Ignatieff is much smarter than I will ever be. Let’s hope politics does not ruin what he first set out to do…

Waiting on Stephen Harper to Condemn Coup d’Etat Attempt in Israel

2009-02-12T15:42:00.000-05:00

Something really evil is happening in Israel.

Tzipi Livni won the Israeli election.

Benjamin Netanyahu, you may remember he marked my first day at Concordia with a little pizzazz, has come in second in the Israeli election.

However, he is claiming victory and is trying to reverse the election results.

Bibi is trying to form government with the 3rd party in Parliament, best known for wanting to secede Galilee from the rest of Israel so they can give it to the Arabs.

The fact Bibi wants to negotiate with these separatists is an act of treason.

When is Stephen Harper going to tell Benjamin Netanyahu that his madness has to end?

2009-02-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Sandbox Politics...

2009-02-03T09:56:00.004-05:00

The number one rule in young Liberal politics is dont get caught...

I hear Krista is actually a nice girl...unfortnately, being nice is probably what allowed her to get caught...

Last night, Krista Balsom resigned as President of the Ontario Young Liberals

Only in the Liberal party can you run unopposed and lose anyway

Update: 11AM

It is confirmed that Denise Brunsdon has resigned her YLC post leading up to her impeachment hearing which would have been held tomorrow.

He who holds the leash,,,

2009-01-29T17:18:00.005-05:00

holds the power

h/t La Presse (Serge Chapleau)

Michael Ignatieff is already Prime Minister

2009-01-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

I can see a few violent reactions to the above statement but hear me out. Ignatieff did exactly what he had to do yesterday.

Firstly, he dumped the coalition which he was so reluctant to enjoy. Even if the Liberals did want to take power, trusting the NDP to co-operate with the Liberals for 18 months is like trusting those Vinny Lecavalier trade rumors: you’ll only get disappointed in the end.

Michael Ignatieff did not undergo some kind of mind altering transformation yesterday. However, the NDP went from wanting him to be their Prime Minister to calling him a Harper clone within minutes. Canadians didn’t want dogma. Unfortunately for the politicians who got left at the altar by the evil known as “rational logic”, dogma was all they could muster.

At the end of the day, Harper is a right wing ideologue. So is deficit Jim. They did their best to put forward a left-wing budget. I wouldn’t call it a sterling effort but A for effort in my books.

The real test for the Harper government will be to see if the money flows and the economy improves as a result. Ignatieff is banking on the Harper government inflating the numbers. He is also banking that the news will only get worse as the sugarcoating as the truth is revealed.

So Stephen Harper is on a leash. Duceppe can never support Harper. Unless Layton has a lobotomy, he will blame the Liberals for the recession and the voters will ignore him.

And once the economy inflicts the maximum political damage on Harper, the Liberals win big…really big.

The one pulling the strings in this scenario is Michael Ignatieff, which means he has the power over Harper, which makes him the Prime Minister.

But hey, at least Harper gets to shake Obama’s hand next month. Enjoy it Steve, the clock is ticking.

Doing Homework During Intermission

2009-01-26T22:23:00.001-05:00

We’ve all done it.

Putting out the best piece of crap for a homework assignment between intermissions of a hockey game is like a rite of passage for many Canadians.

I like hockey a lot. I got really good at putting together passable stuff in 17 minutes or less. When the intermission effort gets you an A, you’re in business.

There are certain things I couldn’t do in between intermissions, during coach’s corner, or on the bus on the way to school in the morning.

A Throne Speech qualifies…

Liberals Have Upper Hand in Game of Chicken

2009-01-21T08:55:00.000-05:00

The Liberals have the option next week of making a major play for seats across Canada. There is one scenario which is not mentioned that would be the best for Liberals, and we are starting to see the beginnings of it.

The Liberals can propose an alternate budget as an amendment to the budget. This will challenge the BQ and the NDP to vote for it. If they fail to do so, they are solely responsible for the ensuing election.

Harper has the option of passing the Liberal budget, making the amendment a friendly one. However, this time it would cost him Jim Flaherty, who would have no more legitimacy if his budget was replaced.

This scenario places Michael Ignatieff firmly in the driver’s seat. Liberals can still oppose a bad budget. They force Layton and Duceppe to follow their lead, killing a coalition where the two caucuses would merge, or forcing an election.

Duceppe does not want to treat Quebecers to their 5th election since 2006.

Layton is the big loser here, being either relegated to irrelevance or being the goat that caused an election, if only because he wanted a cabinet job and Ignatieff had other ideas.

With Stephen W. Bush’s approval ratings tanking and all the euphoria down south for Barack Obama, an election would probably sweep the Liberals into power anyway.

A shadow budget is already in the works. It is a Liberal silver bullet. If they use it right, they cant lose.

The Israel Rant (2009 edition)

2009-01-07T13:01:00.005-05:00

The usual disclaimers:

Hamas is a terrorist organization.
Living in Gaza does not make you a member of Hamas.
Israel has a right to defend itself from imminent attack.
Israel does NOT have the right to murder innocent civilians while defending Israel.

I have stayed quiet up until now partly because this isn’t my fight.

Let’s recap. So far, Israel has killed civilians, kept the press from entering to see the extent of the damage, and now, despite being told by the United Nations that the location was a UN school, they bombed it anyway.

I think what I am supposed to say is that I am “deeply concerned” with this turn of events.

Was Hamas firing from the school? Israel said yes. Excuse me if I don’t believe it.

An AP photographer who got to the scene reported that people gathered at the school because they thought it would be safe. The civilians thought the school was safe because nobody was firing at troops from there. Witnesses say they saw Hamas positions a few streets away from the school.

If Israeli soldiers are on the ground and near Gaza city, why they didn’t check out the school is a mystery to me. Israel must have been monitoring the position. They clearly knew the civilians were inside and fired anyway.

If a government fires at a position and it knows it will kill civilians, is it a war crime?

I also wonder aloud if Peter Kent REALLY said that the civilians in that school were asking to get bombed? Not everybody in Gaza is Hamas. Some of them just want to live....

Photo: Ismail Zaydah/Reuters

As for those Qassam rockets the Palestinians are firing, here is a result of one of them...

Photo: Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press

I'm sure i will be seeing holes bigger than that in Montreal when the snow melts. Seems like Montreal winters do more damage than these rockets...thats probably why in the last few years, Montreal's winters have killed more people than these rockets...

I guess I cant say that about Israeli mortar rounds now can I...

Can Israel defend itself? Yes

Do they need to kill thousands of civilians to do it? No

They should put away the mortar shells to swat this mosquito

It’s a Red Christmas This Year

2008-12-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

Stephen Harper’s days as Prime Minister are numbered.

The incompetence that Canadians have seen since the Fall Economic Update multiplies daily.

Harper clearly does not know what he is doing. Neither does deficit Jim.

THREE WEEKS AGO, we had a surplus and were gonna weather the economic crisis just fine. Everybody knew that was bogus and Don Quixote found his lance, got on his horse and charged straight at the heart of this spinning windmill.

Luckily, the Liberals left Don Quixote at the windmill, and now patiently wait for Harper, Flaherty, Clement, et al. to continue contradicting themselves over the holidays.

Stephen Harper will also create jobs over the holidays. 18 of them. For Tory stalwarts. That should go swimmingly well. Canadians won’t have any of it. As soon as they get the chance, Harper is toast.

Tous Ensemble…After Christmas

2008-12-09T17:50:00.000-05:00

I’ve kept my mouth shut over the past week.

I was watching Stephen Harper’s manufactured unity crisis play out in Quebec, where Pauline Marois was 4 seats away from snatching victory away from Jean Charest, denying him a majority.

Harper’s antics did have a few benefits. He got rid of the greatest asset to the Conservative Party, Stephane Dion.

As Elizabeth Thompson intelligently pointed out today, Ignatieff has a way of getting under Harper’s skin. If the government survives, we can begin to see a chess match develop.

I am absolutely over the moon that Ignatieff is leader. DUH! You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face today, no matter what happened. After the rage of December 2nd 2006, the pain, the tears, the devastated look on the faces of all my friends, today felt great.

Thinking of that fateful afternoon in Montreal, I understand the rage that the Ignatieff detractors are feeling today. It is asking too much to expect everyone to swallow this and “rally behind the leader”. That is why Liberals had to get this done quickly. They needed to ensure that people had a bit of time to recover.

So to all the people who think that this “travesty” means you are going to leave the party, take a deep breath. Take the holidays to think it over. In 5 weeks, the Liberals will take a major step. They have a chance to defeat Harper and take power. The LPC cannot go into this critical phase divided. Internal strife has cost this party far too much.

So let’s put tous ensemble on hold for a few days. Take time to think it over. After Christmas decide whether its time to fish or cut bait. The Liberal Party needs to stop dicking around.

NLDBABHTAHRC

2008-12-01T07:18:00.003-05:00

New Liberal Democrat Bloc Anybody but Harper temporary ad hoc rainbow coalition.

Everyone has been griping that Harper is Satan and so on. Time to do something about it.

As for Ignatieff as the leader of the coalition, this would just be icing on the cake. Sucks for all the Rae and Leblanc supporters. However, it was Bob Rae who gathered everyone together Sunday to hammer out this deal.

Even Bob knew he couldn’t be Prime Minister right now. In fact, with a collapsing economy, getting him as far away from the financial levers is probably the best option anyway.

Morning edit: seems that Bob Rae will not roll over and die. Caucus may have to do that for him...makes you wonder why Ivison didnt bother calling Bob Rae...

Canada will be in good hands, even if we have a Minister of Working Families, Minister of Bank Fees, and Minister of Jack!

Change is coming. But for now, the NLDBABHTAHRC is taking over!

Endorsements You Do Not Want

2008-11-25T07:05:00.002-05:00

Stephen Harper got some political cover for his reckless management of the government's expenses. He got an endorsement from someone whose skills at managing a budget are...well...um...yeah...

BOB RAE!

Is it the opinion of Bob Rae that governments have no real control of their revenues?

Does he believe that there is nothing a prudent government can do to ward off a deficit?

Here is an interview Bob did with John Oakley, where unlike an independent Parliament official, Bob Rae ABSOLVES Stephen Harper for his reckless spending and tax cuts, saying there is nothing Harper or Flaherty could have done to prevent this.

Rae:

"I did not bring in a deficit. The fact of the matter is, the recession caused the deficit, we did not have a tax and spend agenda, that's just nonsense. We had a situation where revenues where dropping like a stone as a result of the recession, that's what happened."

"Okay, so if we have a deficit now, at the federal level or the provincial level, is that going to be the personal fault of Mr. Harper or Mr. McGuinty? I don't think so, these are things that happen"

Oakley:

"If Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty take us into deficit because of the situation or circumstances, you'd be willing to cut them a lot of slack?"

Rae:

"With great respect John, they're not taking us into deficit...

Oakley:

"Mr. Rae, if the country runs a deficit, do you give them the benefit of the doubt?"

Rae:

"It's not a matter of giving them the benefit of the doubt, the fact is there is a very serious recession on John, maybe you haven't noticed. A lot of people are going to be losing their jobs, a lot of people aren't going to be paying taxes, a lot of companies are not going to be in a position to pay taxes. That is going to have a major impact on the revenues of the country. Would I agree with everything they have done so far, in terms of how they've spent things? No, but do I hold them personally responsible for the fact that we're going to have a deficit here, and in Ontario, of course not and no reasonable person should do that"

Yes, Bob, Harper did not cause a global recession.

However, he did spend away a surplus like a drunken sailor who just got to port after 13 years at sea.

How long has it been since Bob Rae got thrown out of office in Ontario?

13 years already…

h/t Steve V

Election Fatigue

2008-11-16T01:53:00.002-05:00

I have been hiding under a rock for the past few days but I did read Don McPherson's coulmn scolding Michael Ignatieff for not being Obama. Gee thanks Don, for creating a scarecrow for you to beat on.

The funniest part about McPherson's column is that he said Bob Rae had yet to declare for the race, one full week after Bob Rae had announced he was running.

Maybe Don MacPherson is the one who needs a brain...

Welcome to the back of the bus

2008-11-12T08:52:00.004-05:00

This is an editorial I wrote for this week's Link, Concordia's student newspaper

California’s Prop 8 makes gays second-class citizens

by Anthony Di Domizio

Last Tuesday saw the election of the United States’ first black president. It was a momentous occasion for an America whose history of racism and discrimination is not too far behind.
Despite the significance of Obama’s victory, Nov. 4 will also be remembered as a day when America almost, but didn’t quite, leave its historical baggage trailing in the dust. As American civil rights leapt forward, they took a step back due to the passing of Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage in California.

Exit polls showed an alarming trend in the outcome of Prop. 8 as the state of California was split down the middle. Whites narrowly voted against it, 51 to 49 per cent; Latinos voted narrowly in favor 53 to 47 per cent; Blacks, who turned out in record numbers to elect Obama, voted 70 to 30 per cent in favour.

Prop. 8 was the most watched ballot measure in the 2008 election and the result has all but officially relegated gays to the back of the civil rights bus. The irony saddens me.

California was the second state to recognize same-sex marriage and has weathered a history of ballot measures to remove the right. If the battle for gay marriage ever needed a victory, it was in “liberal” California.

Gays hoped that a victory in California would turn the tide against state referendum after state referendum denying their legal right to form a committed relationship before the law. However, Prop. 8’s supporters also knew how important it was to stop the parade in its tracks.

Over $74 million was spent in the Prop. 8 campaign, mostly by gay-rights groups campaigning against it and religious groups warning about the moral destruction that two dudes getting hitched would cause to their fragile little lives.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a problem with Mormons campaigning against gay marriage. This is the biggest hypocrisy I have ever seen. Mormons can have 15 wives, including teenagers, and I am not allowed to have one husband?

What gives these people a right to interfere in other people’s lives? One of Jesus’ most prolific teachings is that people shouldn’t judge one another. This goes well beyond that. Why deny two people the right to love each other? Why deny them the right to promise themselves to one another for the rest of their lives?

When gay marriage was passed in Canada, Jean Chretien proudly said that he could never see the Constitution used to deny rights to other people. San Francisco’s mayor, Gavin Newsome, echoed that sentiment last week.

Some asked me why it mattered what California voters did. After all I’m Canadian and I can get married here. For the same reason Canadians recognized the importance of the U.S. electing a black president, gay rights activists argue that once the U.S. passes a law on same-sex couple rights, the path to equality will become a lot smoother.

As the history of last Tuesday begins to wear off and the real work to fix the American economy gets underway, a lesson must be learned; that nobody needs to be left behind. This is a time for leadership. It’s time we get off this bus once and for all.

Martha Hall Findlay is a Sub-Prime Candidate

2008-11-09T01:54:00.005-05:00

I really hate to be the asshole here but Martha Hall-Findlay should not be allowed to seek the Liberal Leadership until she pays back at least some of the debt she incurred 2 years ago.

From the Hill Times most recent update on leadership debt, Martha has paid back exactly NOTHING from her leadership run two years ago.

Here is an analogy that should make many Liberals hesitant about indebted candidates seeking the leadership again.

Assume the Liberal Party is a bank.

In the last race, martha borrowed 200k to finance a leadership bid. In the 2 years since the event, she hasnt shown any attempt to pay back this 200k. (She raised 100k but none since she lost)

Would you allow the same person to run up another 200 000$ in debt? Someone who borrowed 200% of what she was able to raise? This is ridiculous.

This does not preclude dark horses form running. It precludes people from saddling the Liberal Party with debt. It is the Liberal party which is screwed because as she raises the 200 000$ for yet another leadership bid, the party loses out that 200 000$, which it desperately needs.

After what we saw with Dion, it is clear a candidate needs to be able to raise money to be an effective leader. With her current track record in terms of not raising money, I firmly believe the Liberal Party would be acting irresponsibly if it allowed MHF to borrow more money before paying off a sizeable amount of her previous debt.

I have no problem with Kennedy running. He is at least trying to retire his debt. He has shown an ability to raise money. He is much less of a risk.

BOO! B

2008-10-31T18:50:00.004-04:00

How many people find it amusing that Boo!b Rae announced his candidacy on Halloween?

Ontarians must be very scared today.

I wonder what they would do if someone showed up at their door tonight dressed as Boo!b Rae...

maybe that wasn't Boo!b on tv after all. Maybe it was somebody dressed up as Boo!b Rae

Lies, Damned Lies, and Leadership Polls

2008-10-29T07:22:00.001-04:00

Justin Trudeau leads all Liberals as the top choice for Liberal leader with a…wait for it… 16% of the vote.

The National Post decided that this was enough to print it as news. SIXTEEN percent is a ringing endorsement. 16% is even less than Dion’s first ballot result in the last race.

Justin Trudeau “Canadian’s Top Choice” for Liberal leader, says the national post.

Underneath the story, is another headline…where you get the bar graphs

“Trudeau, Rae, Ignatieff lead Liberal leadership pack”

Gee, that sure sounds close. Ignatieff scores a big 12% That’s football conference low…

As for Bob, he’s at 9…yes 9…the headline says, “lead pack”, and he is in single digits.

For the record Bob is tied with none of the above.

Maybe the headline should read “Trudeau, Ignatieff, Rae, and none of the above lead Liberal leadership pack”

The Post says Iggy and Boob are “neck-and-neck”. Gee 12 and 9.

Among Liberal voters, Ignatieff leads 19-10. SOUNDS NECK AND NECK TO ME.

No wonder the Post is going bankrupt; they think double and neck and neck is the same thing. Our deficit last year was neck and neck with our deficit this year…sounds like NDP government math…

Fuddle Duddle Comedy Corner

2008-10-29T03:06:00.000-04:00

How do we know Bob Rae is making his mark on the Liberal Party?

The Ontario Liberals are running a deficit

The Ad that Saved Us From a Majority

2008-10-24T15:58:00.001-04:00

Dan Arnold over at Calgary Grit summed up the important ads of the last campaign but he forgot one.

The Quebec ad which hammered home that Stephane Dion was irrelevant, and that only Duceppe and the Bloc could Block the majority.

Harper failed. not because he gave concessions to Quebec, but because he appeared so blatantly insincere.

On October 14th, Stephen Harper's march toward a majority was stopped in Quebec, and I hate to say it, cuz of the Bloc

After 18 years, the temporary ad hoc rainbow coalition found a use for itself.

Their vote total continues to drop.

Quebec is ready to dump this party, but it needs to make a choice.

The Tories dropped the ball.

The NDP is still invisible.

The Liberals have an opportunity here.

Time for them to capitalize.

Scott Ross Throws Out the First Smear

2008-10-22T23:09:00.003-04:00

I knew "Peace in our Time" wouldnt last too long.

so here is the first volley, from a Liberal blogger in British Columbia who believes that a comment quoted in a column by a discredited journalist with a reputation for playing with the facts, FROM TEN YEARS AGO is a good thing to post on the day when Liberals said they were gonna keep things civil.

I can find quotes that make it look like Michael Ignatieff thinks torture is awesome. We all know he doesnt.

Not even Jan Wong can change that.

Scott took a quote and launched an attack. He threw a grenade into a minefield. Had he read anything that Michael wrote about Quebec at the time, about nationalism at the time, he would have seen that something was fishy about the quote.

They teach us how to be objective in journalism school. We are also warned to not be lazy and to check our facts, so we dont do things like report that John McCallum will be named interim leader of the Liberal Party.

We do not take quotes and trumpet them as fact. We confirm them. We call. We check. This is why bloggers havent been able to make it to the next step.

The most difficult thing in my career will be to stay out of this race, because the smears came last time, and it drove me up the wall. I still have a great deal of respect for Michael Ignatieff, but I will not campaign for him.

Scott chose to play gotcha, and that is his decision.

He has the right to do that.

I also have the right to call bullshit.

Peace in our Time

2008-10-22T12:46:00.002-04:00

The Obligatory Leadership Post

2008-10-18T23:59:00.003-04:00

I intend to stay out of this

but I would like to tell everyone why I think the Liberal Party is in deep shit

Frank McKenna

No Abortion No passable French No Quebec No government...

Bob Rae

"It’s not so much that I’ve changed … It’s the world around us that’s changed"

yup thats Bob Rae in 2008. He hasnt changed. He is the same old Bob Rae...Teachers should start seeing what days off are convenient for them...

Gerard Kennedy

Nice to see "Le Gerard" make an appearance again. his victory over Peggy Nash was impressive, but he is still Gerard Kennedy and my 86 year immigrant Italian grandmother still speaks better French

Michael Ignatieff

Winning is important

Some say winning is everything

The people who ran the Ignatieff campaign are known for...losing

they REALLY know how to lose

I love em to death, but you really have to question the ability of these guys to do anything right, no matter how brilliant their candidate may or may not be.

This Guy Knew How to Manage a Trillion Dollar Economy

2008-10-10T08:39:00.001-04:00

was it underhanded to air?

yes absolutely we will bea talking about this is journalism ethics classes for years

Is it underhanded to report after aired?

absolutely not

One last note on this, Mark Dunn blaming this on Dion's alleged hearing disability is generating the good ol' eye-rolling from the undecided household here in Saint Leonard.

Quote my mom "I wish I could come up with a disability every time I did something stupid"

She would be REALLY disabled...

Stephane Dion's Sarah Palin Moment

2008-10-09T20:32:00.001-04:00

Too funny for words

If I was Prime Minister when?

Probably never now...

I call it the Cherniak Curse

This is why I like Elizabeth May

2008-10-07T16:21:00.001-04:00

I like Elizabeth May alot

She has gained national prominence, and depending which Canadian pollster you believe, is going to make a huge impact on this election.

Here she is telling Mike Duffy what they teach me in class all the time...

The way you frame the question can be more important than the answer

Liberals Invoking Obama in Ads

2008-10-04T22:33:00.000-04:00

I was watching the Canadiens play Minnesota tonight. It seemed they were looking ahead and are not focusing on the task at hand.

During the commercials, I saw some election ads, including Stephen Harper telling me something about how proud he is Canada is bilingual or something like that. I thought it was a commercial for the Liberals for a second…

Anyway, then Denis Coderre came on and said that Barack Obama was gonna win the American election. Thanks Denis! He said we do not want Harper to discuss things like the environment with Obama since the two didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things.

The crux of the ad: Vote Liberal because they will vote Democrat in the US. Oh yea and why talk about Stephane Dion in Quebec when you can talk about Barack Obama. He’s so precious.

Thanks for wasting 30 seconds of my life Denis. Maybe you should focus on the election you are running in.

Besides, you want a Liberal ad in Quebec, get that clip of Alex Kovalev saying “I vote for that guy” from Tout le Monde en Parle. For the hockey-viewing crowd, that will work a lot more than Denis Coderre…

Polling 101

2008-10-03T07:00:00.002-04:00

If you are conducting a poll, an online poll no less, in the MIDDLE of a debate, it proves your respondents, are

1) Not paying attention,
2) May already have had their mind made up,
3) Assuming everybody waits to answer online polls while trying to decipher what the 5 leaders are saying.

Absolutely ludicrous and all media outlets reporting on its results should be ashamed of themselves.

I watched the whole thing, but I am not going to tell you who I think won, although I do think the winner was glaringly obvious.

Plagiarism is Bad

2008-09-30T14:34:00.002-04:00

"to accuse a potential leader of plagiarism - an academic no less - on the basis of a couple similar sentences and statistics (which are always similar!) is beyond the pale in my books."
-Jason Cherniak

Mont Royal Jewish Politics

2008-09-29T14:13:00.006-04:00

I was waiting for the bus at Snowdon metro this morning and I saw how Irwin Cotler's signs had been defaced. Here is a picture

I was wondering why anybody would put a Hitler mustache on Irwin frickin Cotler.

I called a few friends from the riding, visibly perplexed.

My friend from Cotler's riding said the most interesting thing too, but he refuses to allow me to name him.

"Irwin's problem isn't that he is Jewish, his problem is that he is not Jewish enough."

He went on to explain to me that Irwin's human rights positions have favored Palestinians every now and then. Run of the mill stuff like, you know, they are human beings...

Apparently that didnt please some people in the jewish community.

Anti-Semitic acts have been far from rare in the area in recent years as well. Could be anybody really

DISCLAIMER:
we do NOT know why or who defaced the signs in this extreme manner.

I hope they take the sign down soon. It is kind of disturbing since there is a Jewish school a few blocks away. There is no place in politics for shit like this. It is really despicable.

But seriously. Irwin Cotler not Jewish enough?

Reality is Setting in for Canada's Left

2008-09-25T18:38:00.003-04:00

The left deserves to be governed by the right for four years just so the left can understand what goes on in the heads of the third of the country that is traditionally conservative.

The Liberals deserve to pay for their poor choice in leadership. This isnt bitterness. It is stating plain truth. Dion has been everything that his detractors predicted. AND MORE! Vote against the tide by voting against a candidate based on a very progressive vision of Quebec has caused the party to pay for their lack of foresight dearly.

The NDP have to pay for trying so hard to dethrone Harper, they gave him a 4 year carte blanche with the country.

Bloc voters deserve a Tory Majority for thinking that sovereignty was still a more important issue than everything else going on. These Ivory-tower BQuistes in Montreal dont understand that there are more important issues. They are out of touch, and deserve to be defeated.

Green voters had an option to pick a doofus PM who would get stuff done or vote for a fringe party and elect Harper for 4 years.

By having her best showing for the Greens Lizzie May only proves that the best thing the Greens can do to help the environment is to disband their party and join the Liberal Party of Canada and effect change from within.

The Tories suffered over a decade of futility while they were divided. If the left doesnt want to suffer the same fate, they better act together...

They have four years

If it Ain't Broke...

2008-09-18T17:45:00.002-04:00

Wait, the fiscal imbalance is broken again?

«Je n’ai pas de comptes à rendre au gouvernement fédéral sur la gestion des fonds au Québec», a-t-il laissé tomber. Pour lui le règlement du problème du déséquilibre fiscal passe aussi par une solution au financement de l’éducation post-secondaire, malmenée par les coupures d’Ottawa dans les années 1990.

«Comme premier ministre du Québec je vous dis que ce n’est pas réglé et qu’on va continuer à réclamer du financement pour le post-secondaire», a déclaré M. Charest.

h/t La Presse

In case you dont read French, that means Bubbles, Premier of Quebec, has decided that the fiscal imbalance, isn’t exactly solved. Apparently, education money wasn’t included, despite the fact that the money that was transferred in the fiscal imbalance deal included more than enough to cover for the cuts made in the 90s.

Well good luck with that one Bubbles. You were doing great in the polls. Now you come out and say one of your biggest accomplishments was a sham.

I’m sure when you take credit for it again in the next provincial election, Mario Dumont will be there to burst your bubble…

Somebody Please Make Me Care

2008-09-10T18:04:00.001-04:00

Maybe I have Canadian political fatigue or something, but I am having a hard time caring about this federal election.

I tried everything. I made a few attack ads on notaleader.ca. Boy was that fun. I looked for the make a policy section on the Conservative website. No dice…

I went to a campaign event too. I was at Dawson for the Dion announcement on Monday. I asked a few of the students at Dawson, mostly of voting age, what they thought of the event, since the national media was literally 10 feet away from them with spotlights and 5 campaign vehicles. “What election?” “Who is Stephane Dion?” Ugh! These people cared as much as I did. Although at least I knew there was an election.

I tried listening to Jack! Layton for 30 seconds. That guy really gets me riled up. He surely must be up to something stupid. He doesn’t want Elizabeth May in the debates because she supports the Liberal Carbon Tax Shift-a-Palooza. Lucky for Jack! the NDP Budget amendment in 2006 didn’t disqualify him from that election debate. Agreeing with other parties is conducive to a constructive functional situation. Jack! would have none of that.

Wait, the NDP backed down? They decided to be democratic after all? God DAMMIT! surely there would be another issue that would dominate the campaign and get me back on track with regards to caring…

WHAT! The Puffin (A Noble Bird!) was POOPING on Dion. I have heard of throwing shit at your opponent, but this is really taking it to a new level. First of all, if the tories were paying attention, they would know the puffin (a noble bird) cleans up his own poop! The Tories leave their poop at Julie Couillard’s house.

And how exactly is Puffin poop going to prevent the economic shit from hitting the proverbial wind turbine? An election about the economy…I hate to admit it but I am beginning to slightly feel sorry for Paul Martin. Seriously, can someone go track him down and give him a hug?

34 days left until the election, hopefully someone will find something fruitful to debate, because with all this rolling around in the mud, the lipstick on this smelly pig is bound to come off…

Obama Campaign Should Hire This Guy

2008-09-07T04:36:00.001-04:00

In 5:51 Jon Stewart manages to ably and wittily (is this a word) dismantle all the spin the Republicans have been successfully throwing at the media.

FD will probably go into election mode tomorrow so I will try and lay low with regards to the American election.

The Democrats have bungled the Palin rollout. The media have mishandled the Palin rollout (It was CNN's John Roberts who infamously questioned Palin's ability to be a mother and VP at the same time.)

As a result, we are back where we started with an energized republican base to boot.

Time to focus on the Conserva-majorita-palooza that the media will attempt to sell to us this upcoming week.

Sarah Palin "Hits it Out of the Park"

2008-09-04T09:39:00.002-04:00

Wolf Blitzer and Gloria Borger should really be my teachers at journalism school.

A+ for EVERYONE!

I watched Sarah Palin's speech with great interest.

This woman has been vilified for days as not ready, and a disaster, and simply not ready in case John McCain kicks the bucket.

However, there were a couple of lines that, in my opinion, did the traditional VP's role and attacked her opponent with lines that were rather feisty but extremely effective.

Barack Obama attacked Palin's small-town mayor experience directly, saying his campaign had more people working on it than lived in Palin's small town.

This is true. Obama is the mayor of Obamanation. I guess it is easier to be mayor of a town where everybody signs up to support you...

"And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening."

This race really will be about small-town America vs. the big cities. The amount of community organizers outside the inner cities is very small, and it is a fairly democratic constituency. Palin went after those voters in small towns.

"A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town."

We need to remember this is an election between McCain and Obama, not Obama and Palin. So when Palin comes out with a line like "there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate." Democrats cant fall for this trap again.

John Kerry attacked Dick Cheney for much of the 2004 campaign much to the benefit of George Bush who won his second presidency much more easily than he stole his first one.

The line that sold my mom, the ever-undecided voter in Canadian elections, was

"When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" - as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.

For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds."

She spent her time bringing Obama down to her level of experience, making herself Obama's equal, which greatly helps John McCain. If the Democrats keep arguing she is less experienced than Obama, they will lose. That is a guarantee.

Democrats were whining that Palin's speech was mean. Harry Reid, Senate Majority leader said it was "shrill". I would like to see the last man that Reid has called shrill, and when he realizes he made a sexist remark, I fully expect him to come back with his tail between his legs.

Last night, the test was Sarah Palin's toughness. Judging by the fact that it was the Democrats crying at the end of the night, I'd say she passed the test with flying colours.

For all those who thought Obama would run away with this, some Democrat-supporters like Scott Tribe boasting that the speech was so terrible Obama would now get 350 electoral votes.

I got news for Scott and other Obamacrats. This one is going down to the wire, because the Republicans came to fight last night, and they arent going anywhere.

Palin Derangement Syndrome

2008-09-03T10:53:00.002-04:00

I challenge anyone from any part of the political spectrum to knock down any of the arguments made by Michelle Malkin in this post.

There’s something about outspoken conservative women that drives the Left mad. It’s a peculiar pathology I’ve reported on for more than 15 years, both as a witness and a target. Thus, the onset of Palin Derangement Syndrome in the media, Democrat circles, and the cesspools of the blogosphere came as no surprise. They just can’t help themselves.

Liberals hold a special animus for constituencies they deem traitors. Minorities who identify as social and economic conservatives have left the plantation and sold out their people. Women who put an “R” by their name have abandoned their ovaries and betrayed their gender. As Republican officeholders and conservative public figures who are women have grown in number and visibility, the progression of Conservative Female Abuse has worsened. The astonishing vitriol and virulent hatred directed at GOP Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the most severe manifestation to date.

The first stage of Conservative Female Abuse by the Left is infantilization. Right-wing women can’t possibly believe what they believe about the sanctity of life, self-defense, free markets, or foreign policy. They must be submissive little dolls of the White Male Hierarchy. Or, as a far Left (is there any other kind of Left in San Francisco?) San Francisco Chronicle columnist wrote of First Lady Laura Bush, they must be put in their place as “docile doormats” with no brains of their own. True to form, no sooner had John McCain announced Gov. Palin as his veep pick than jeers of “Palin = neocon puppet” sprouted across the Internet.

The second stage of CFA is sexualization. A conservative woman is not merely a sellout. She is an intellectual prostitute. Unable or unwilling to argue with them on the merits, detractors resort to mocking the physical appearance of their ideological opponents in skirts and denigrating them with vulgar epithets. MSNBC hosts insulted former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson’s accomplished wife and mother of two, Jeri Thompson, as working the stripper pole. Newspaper cartoonists Ted Rall, Pat Oliphant, and Jeff Danziger caricatured Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a mammy, thick-lipped parrot, and Bush “House Nigga” armed with “hair straightener.” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd derided former GOP Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris for applying “her makeup with a trowel.”

True to form, Dowd was first out of the box to snicker at Gov. Palin’s beauty pageant past, ridicule her “beehive and sexy shoes,” and compare her path to the vice presidential nomination as a “hokey chick flick.” Joe Biden backhandedly praised her as “good looking.” And left-wing bloggers worked overtime on lurid photoshops of Palin as a bikini model and porn star. At the Democratic Underground, a highly trafficked liberal website raising money for Barack Obama, members held a contest to come up with nicknames and posters to slime GOP Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — and then to “spread [them] all over the ‘net.” Among the “nicer” entries: “Cruella,” “Gidget,” “Governor Jesus Camp,” “VPILF,” “Fertilla the Huntress,” “Iditabroad,” and “KILLER PYSCHO FUNDIE BITCH FROM HELL!!”

The third stage of CFA is demonization. When the Left tires of hurling whore insults, it turns conservative women in the public eye into nefarious creatures. Bill Maher called Laura Bush “Hitler’s dog.” George Carlin attacked Barbara Bush as “the Silver douchebag.” A Huffington Post website member wrote of Nancy Reagan: “Like her evil husband, she has lived far too long. Here’s hoping the hag suffers for several weeks, then croaks in the tub.” Another added: “I feel no pity for the bitch who took delight in watching thousands die of a horrible disease and watching the poor having to eat out of dumpsters because of her husband’s political beliefs.”
True to form, rumors of Palin being a crypto-Nazi surfaced on the Internet and the fringe media. And liberal critics used her gun-rights record to smear her as bloodthirsty.

And the final stage of CFA is dehumanization. Conservative women aren’t real women according to the liberal feminist establishment’s definition. Remember when Gloria Steinem called Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison a “female impersonator?” Or when curdled NOW leader Patricia Ireland instructed Democrats to vote only for “authentic” female political candidates? Or when Al Gore’s fashion consultant Naomi Wolf described the foreign-policy analysis of Jeane Kirkpatrick as being “uninflected by the experiences of the female body?”

Echoing the bottom-feeders in the liberal blogosphere, mainstream journalists and Obama water-carriers now question Palin’s commitment to motherhood and even challenged her pre-natal care decisions in an effort to destroy her. Forget about questioning their patriotism. I question their sanity.

The following was a post made by Michelle Malkin, a Republican pundit in the United States

Clinton Speech Hits Home

2008-08-28T10:16:00.003-04:00

It goes without saying that the speech Hillary Clinton gave Tuesday night was one of the most selfless speeches any defeated candidate has given.

Barack Obama is the king of speeches. The rabbit Hillary Clinton pulled out of her pantsuit Tuesday night was as riveting as one of Obama’s classics, and certainly gave the Democratic nominee a boost.

Hillary Clinton’s speech is important because of its underlying message. Party is far important than personality. I didn’t support Hillary for who she was. I supported her for what she stood for. I can never support John McCain knowing that he would do everything in his power to prevent Hillary’s policies from being passed.

Hillary Clinton didn’t convince all her supporters to vote for Obama in November. But she convinced them not to vote for McCain. The rest is up to Obama.

I toyed with the idea of voting Conservative in the upcoming (maybe tomorrow?) election. I still believe Stephane Dion is a terrible leader and frankly, he has done absolutely nothing in the past 2 years to show me he was the best candidate, or second-best, or possible third-best candidate for the job.

People may argue with me on this point. I always found it interesting to see my friends twist themselves into knots defending Dion. After abstaining on just about every pillar the Liberal party was founded on, I think leadership is definitely not the word I would to describe the 2 year tenure of Stephane Dion. I simply cannot cast a vote for this man to be Prime Minister.

On the other hand, the Conservatives stand for so many things that make my skin crawl. They scare people into thinking Canada is a crime-filled country. They believe immigration should be limited to countries who only send skilled workers and limit the rest. They lead a foreign policy of isolationism and insult towards many allies. They refuse to silence those in their party that would limit my right to marry.

So many of the things I stand for as a liberal, prosperity, equality of opportunity, social justice will not be top priorities of any Conservative government, as we have seen in the past 3 years. Voting Conservative out of spite would be a betrayal of my values. Most importantly, it would give Stephen Harper a vote he clearly didn’t earn.

I cannot vote NDP, BQ, or Green for the simple reason that by never being able to win, and implement all their wonderful bright ideas, these parties get a free pass. Voting for a platform that will never be implemented might as well be voting for nothing to get done. I cannot do that in good conscience.

So there you have it, Hillary Clinton has put me in the undecided column. It is now up to Harper and Dion to earn my vote. They need to convince me that they will effectively lead the country in a direction that suits my values. If neither can do that, I will still go cast a ballot on election day, but it will probably be blank.

This is How I Felt About Gerard Kennedy

2008-08-22T13:53:00.001-04:00

Mind you, Iggynation wasnt exactly any better...

I have to admit, nothing sounds more presumptous and elitist than a one-term senator comparing himself to Moses...

This election was supposed to be about Bush

When the election was about Bush, Obama was clearly ahead...

Now the election is about Obama.

Now it will be close. Hang on to your seats everyone.

Also

FD Prediction Desk is here to make 2 wrong VP predictions.

Democrats:

Who I want: Hillary Clinton

Let's face it, even with all the negatives, there is no larger group of swing voters than disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters

Who will be picked: Tim Kaine

The Governor of Virginia represents generational change. Obama wont pick an old guy.

The problem with Kaine is that Obama would have had to look long and hard for someone with LESS experience than him. In Kaine, at least he is more experienced!

Republicans

Who should be picked: Mitt Romney

This is an election about the economy, and Romney was the economy candidate. His dad was the governor of Michigan, and with Kwame Kilpatrick's scandal and Jennifer Granholm's growing impopularity, the Democcrats may have to spend a lot of money here.

Also let's face it, the right-wing needs some abating, and the Tom Ridge "scare" will make them happy they ended up with Romney.

Who Will Be Picked:

Mitt Romney

McCain has been very smart up until this point. I fully expect him to make the right decision. Massachusetts and New Hampshire share the same media market as well. Therefore, the people of NH are well aware of the success Mitt Romney enjoyed as Mass. Governor.

As my friend Phil pointed out to me, Mormon population may not be huge outside Utah, but in Nevada and Colorado, it is definitely present.

Random Conversations

2008-08-12T15:45:00.006-04:00

Meet Adam

He is from Scranton, Pennsylvania and I spoke to him about this past weekend's events in Georgia.

Adam is 23 and will be voting for the second time in November (he voted Kerry in 2004 and did not vote in the PA primary in April)

Adam: Hey Toinz (that is my WoW name, I am aware I am a dork) is it true that Russia invaded some other country

Anthony: Yea Russia invaded Georgia

Adam: No dude im serious, its all over the news

Anthony: lol no man Georgia is a small country near Russia, used to be part of Russia during the old communist days

Adam: oh lol I thought you were saying he invaded the state of Georgia.

Adam: so is this important

Anthony: Well sorta, Russia used to be a big superpower, and they have been itching to throw their epeen (it means ego) around and have all these planes and guns to do it.

Adam: Can that be bad for the US?

Anthony: You dont want Russia in any form of pissing contest. They can do quite a bit of damage. First its a small country like Georgia, then it could be Ukraine.

Adam: Yea I read that Mccain said that

Anthony: yea hes kinda the expert on that kind of thing.

Adam: did Obama say anything

Anthony: well obama was on vacation but it took him 3 statements to catch up to mccain with the severity of the answer.

Adam: he flipflopped?

Anthony: no

Anthony: he played it safe at first and as it looked more and more that mccain was right, he "clarified" his statement but really he kind of screwed up cuz it took him 3 days to get the same answer as mccain and mccain had his statement out before Obama had his first one

Adam: lol so he wasnt prepared

Anthony: he was on vacation dude

Adam: yea like Bush in crawford lol

Anthony: you sound like Fox News

Adam: nah dude

Adam: its like Hillary said, at 3am, Obama wont know what hes doing.

Anthony: Yea but John Mccain goes to sleep at 530 at night lol

Adam: come on dude i know you dont want obama to win

Anthony: ya dude but my vote counts as much as the 200000 people in Germany

Anthony: and I dont really care who wins at this point. i got it in my head that Hillary should have won so ill just watch and laugh at both of them.

Anthony: just promise me youll go vote in November

Adam: yea I think im gonna vote for mccain but its early

Anthony: well dude you have 3 months

Adam: yea i guess we'll see

Stephane Dion Takes the Bait!

2008-08-06T00:52:00.002-04:00

So, apparently, Stephane Dion is also taking a well-deserved break after travelling the long and hard barbecue circuit.

He wasnt there at the Marc Graneau launch tonight.

BUT, for all you election junkies, I did find out that Dion was indeed on vacation, at his cottage...wait for it...

FISHING

So lets recap...

Stephane Dion muses about election

Stephen Harper says "Fish or cut bait."

Stephane Dion goes fishing...

Quebec Lieutenant AWOL

2008-08-02T09:35:00.003-04:00

I know Westmount Ville-Marie is going to be a solid Liberal hold on September 8th. I doubt any Liberals are really losing any sleep over it.

Some of my journalism colleagues are interning for one of Westmount's local papers, and the campaign thus far hasnt been exciting.

However, Saint Lambert is by far the more important of the two Quebec by-elections. There is definitely enough federalist votes to win as the Bloc will not cross 40%. If any of the other parties can rally the federalist vote, as Yolande Thibault did in 1997 and 2000 for the Liberals (one cigarette break at a time...) then it is definitely possible to do it again.

So with one major test ahead of her, where is Celine Hervieux Payette, Quebec Liberal Senator and chief electoral organizer in Quebec?

She is on vacation, nowhere to be found.

(Insert joke about Senators on vacation here)

Jokes aside, I think it is a sad state of affairs that the Quebec Lieutenant is on vacation when her most important event of the summer has just gotten underway.

Especially with rumors of a candidate struggling under the spotlight, the Quebec Lieutenant needs to be there to reassure her candidate that she will be just fine, and help take the riding back for the Liberal Party.

Celine Hervieux Payette once said things cant get much worse for the Liberals in Quebec. I believe many Liberals thought she was trying to help them get better.

Paging Jan Wong

2008-08-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

So crazy ethnic man savagely decapitates a dull normal on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba.

Clearly Manitoba makes you want to randomly murder people on buses...

Hiatus

2008-07-07T23:44:00.001-04:00

Sorry guys,

journalism school has got me completely swamped

Ill post my schoolwork once the semester is over.

some of the stuff is pretty interesting.

Ill even put the audio stuff up. Pro-tools is full of win.

This is why Spain Won

2008-06-29T19:14:00.005-04:00

At least Buffon knows why...

Year In Review

2008-06-27T17:04:00.002-04:00

Best Moment: Gomery Verdict Completely Thrown Out
I would have gone with the Residential Schools apology but nothing, and I mean nothing, can ever top the Gomery Inquiry as the worst political decision of all time. Paul Martin’s legacy continues to grow by the day.

Best LOLOLOL: Denise Brunsdon for YLC President
Speaking of the inevitable wunderkind turning into a laughing stock…

Worst Moment: Liberals abstaining for the entire first half of this year.
There is still enough of a Liberal soul living inside of me and little pieces of it kept dying every time I watched them sit on their hands.

Most Overrated: Martha Hall Findlay
I was at a Liberal event in Montreal where Martha was speaking. She said during her speech “Two years ago, nobody knew who I was.” The silence in the room got more hilarious by the second. Martha, the Deputy Finance critic sits in the front row while the actual finance critic sits in the second row. Can someone explain this to me?

Most Underrated: Dan Arnold. Future Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party.
I know he isn’t elected yet but Dan really is a shoe-in for Premier. Dan studied math. Ed Stelmach is stupid. Shout a bunch of numbers at him dude, and he will disappear faster than a Maple Leafs player with a multi-year contract.

Worst Campaign Idea: The gimme here is Oily the Splotch.
However, my favorite part of this ad campaign is that the Tories never checked with the company they planned to advertise with to see if they ran political ads. THIS IS WHAT THE DEATH STAR DELIVERS…

Best Political Move: The Carbon Tax.
Here we have great leadership with Stephane Dion, who DARED propose something as bold as a carbon tax when everybody told him it was impossible. Why did nobody think of proposing a carbon tax before?

Worst Political Move: Jack Layton being against a carbon tax. The NDP’s aim is to box in the Liberals between them and Harper. Layton then allowed Dion and May to box him in. This will hurt the NDP at the polls.

Is Justin Learning...Or Am I?

2008-06-26T06:31:00.006-04:00

Seriously, I dont see why Justin Trudeau still thinks I am out to get him. As I am quickly learning in journalism school, people like Justin Trudeau are a reporter's dream. Why? Because he speaks in printable quotes.

I know the criticism during the nomination was a little rough, but I came around and so did many of my former Liberal colleagues. The way Justin works the riding and with the name recognition in the ethnic areas, Vivianne Barbot will have ALOT of trouble holding on there. I spoke to some Bloc people over the St. Jean holiday as well. They are quite worried...

Looks like the Liberals may just pick up Quebec seats after all...

I asked Justin about what the fete nationale means to him. Like many of the events in his riding, Justin was celebrating his ethnic heritage, (in his case French Canadian) and he was doing so by stylishly wearing a ceinture flechee, traditional garb of the coureurs de bois right out of your grade 10 Canadian history books... (I wore a ceinture flechee during the debate outside radio canada in 2006. The separatists were wondering why only the Liberals had them and they didnt haha...good times)

Separatists believe that the ceinture flechee is a symbol for them, but really, being French Canadian and being separatist are not the same thing, and besides, the belt was around long before French Canadians had anything to separate from.

Here are Justin's quotes by the way, just for Braeden and Dan Arnold... (the second one is slightly edited for gramattical coherence, I have it on tape)

"There is less of a branding of this as a separatist holiday and there is much more of a redefined “nous” that Pauline Marois is struggling with. We are proud to be Quebecers, proud of our identity and proud to celebrate this holiday like anyone else."

"It is a francophone celebration. There is a sentiment of Quebec identity in the traditional aspects of it; a lot of the folkloric Quebec fiddle music, although last night we even saw some hip hop and Maghreb rap. There is more of a celebration of where we are going as a plural community than there is a singular identity that for so long has colored Quebec."

Plural community including all Quebecers eh?

Justin Trudeau will make a great Liberal Quebec MP after all...

Autonomy

2008-06-25T17:00:00.001-04:00

When a province is seen to have no interference from the federal government it is deemed to be autonomous. Stephen Harper’s vision of Canada is rather decentralized so for Harper to say he wants an autonomous Quebec since if you ever did any background research of the guy, this position should surprise nobody.

I believe it is time for a real debate in this country about federalism and about the type of federalism we want.

We either want a Canada where levels of government co-operate or levels of government where everybody minds their own business and sticks to their areas of jurisdiction.

I hope in this debate we can state two options. Both sides have considerable expertise and explicitly entrenched positions. The traditional Liberal position is one of more co-operation between Ottawa and the provinces. Despite Stephane Dion’s record as a decentralist during his time as minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Harper position is far more decentralized.

I hope in this debate we can avoid fear-mongering. In neither position do we break up the country. Canada remains united with both these options, albeit in very different ways.

The best part of this debate is it further alienates the Bloc Quebecois. If we can craft a debate around a choice of federalism, we give Quebecers two positive options to debate. At the end of the day, the Bloc will continue to accomplish nothing for Quebecers. It is now flirting with historical lows in the polls hovering in the low 30s. (although I guess “no federalism” can be considered to be an option.)

This is certainly an exciting for people who like this kind of stuff. As long as both sides remain mature about all this, (highly unlikely but worth mentioning nonetheless) a very significant debate can take place and Canada can chart its place forward.

Is Carbon Tax Copyrighted?

2008-06-24T09:45:00.001-04:00

It seems the Liberals have “borrowed” the name of their term for the carbon tax from a little company who offers green solutions to other companies.

This little company is losing business for having its name associated with the Liberal Carbon Tax. Naturally this company isn’t too pleased and is going to sue.

I don’t understand copyright laws very well, but I do think any sort of political concept is difficult to copyright. If I had a corporation called Liberal that preceded the Liberal Party, can I get the Liberal Party to change names? Probably not.

Either way, this is free publicity for both of them. A fake copyright infringement story on the front pages of Canadian newspapers will keep this idea in the consciousness of Canadians a little longer.

It is too bad though that the Liberals were too afraid to call their plan carbon tax, because if Canadians are smart enough to understand a carbon tax (green shift) and they will be able to see who gets taxed by it, then they would have no problem calling it a carbon tax.

Friday Caption Contest

2008-06-20T07:43:00.003-04:00

I support the Carbon Tax 100%

However, this clapping thing may well become the gift that keeps giving

Bob: Can you believe we lost to a guy who wants to clap his way to 24 Sussex?

Michael: Shut up Bob! I'm just trying to focus on not laughing.

Things that Make Me LOL

2008-06-19T19:43:00.004-04:00

I blatantly ripped this off my friend Alex's Facebook, it is pure win!

edit: which was shamelessly ripped off from slate.com, clearly none of us have any standards...

Subject: WHO IS BARACK OBAMA?

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American's duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones.

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, "WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL." Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It's upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There's only one artist on Barack Obama's iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama's new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama's skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.

Jupiter Falls

2008-06-10T17:56:00.005-04:00

A tree as old as this country crashed onto Milton street in the McGill Ghetto. The maple tree, affectionately known as Jupiter was felled by a violent storm which ripped through Montreal Tuesday afternoon. The gusts of wind reached as high as 110 km/h but the storm passed quickly through the city, lasting no longer than 15 minutes.

Although some originally thought lightning took down the tree, after observing the area, Montreal city workers believed it was likely the wind which caused the collapse. One onlooker, who did not give his name, recounted what happened. "There was a loud noise, a crack. Then the tree twisted a couple of times, and crashed through the fence."

Nicolas Rhodeus, a 14-year old FACE student, lives in the house where Jupiter resided for over a century. "The tree was great cover", he laughed, recalling the snowball fights during the winter and the water fights of the summer. After growing up with the tree his entire life, he sat stunned surveying the devastation the tree left in his backyard, and on Milton street.

As city workers cleared the street, many onlookers and a few summer students gaped at the mess in the street. One car took the brunt of the tree. It had a cracked windshield, a few dents, and a broken back windshield.

Nicolas said he will miss the tree, as well as the family of raccoons who lives there every year. "They left just last week." Lucky for them, as Jupiter, like his mythological counterpart, did not show any mercy for anything in his way.

Oil Speaks for Tories

2008-06-09T14:04:00.002-04:00

I am in class so I cant post links just yet...

But is it me or does the new Tory ad campaign blasting the Liberal Carbon Tax actually have a PATCH OF OIL speaking for them.

never did I think the Conservatives would stoop so low to actually have oil speak for them on environmental issues...

Democrats in the US need to avoid the 3 Cherniak Laws of Party Unity

2008-06-06T08:50:00.004-04:00

Sigh…

The American blogosphere has become ever more explosive since Barack Obama clinched the nomination. There is a lot of resentment, and both sides seem to have some behaving well, and some behaving really badly.

Firstly, there are some Clintonistas saying they want to vote for a moderate with experience. One must admit in the “moderate with experience” category, McCain has Obama beat, considering Obama isn’t moderate, nor really that experienced.

However, there are reasons people vote for President. Some want the cooler person, the one who they feel is more like them. Barack Obama wins a lot of support there. George W. Bush won many votes against Al Gore because Gore (who is hilarious btw) did appear like Al Gore the android…

Barack Obama is above blue states and red states. He wants to be a uniter, not a divider. I have heard this before as well. Not to mention the whole “im gonna change Washington bit.” This isn’t new. Bush the outsider vs. Gore the insider…

There will be voters from all over the place who will be voting for either McCain or Obama for all kinds of different reasons. They are drastically different. Nobody will be able to argue that they are the same candidate, like that Futurama episode with Jack Johnson and John Jackson.

However, the Democrats I have seen on the blogosphere are making me chuckle a little.

Being a great advocate of "party unity" myself…I have a little bit of advice.

If Clinton supporters are thinking of voting for McCain because he is a moderate and experienced, other Democrats should remind them McCain’s record of siding with Bush makes him rather right-wing. McCain’s maverick image is as solid as Bill Clinton’s popularity with Black people. As we have seen, no image is unchangeable.

Democrats can also argue that bad experience is not better than no experience. I remember a few people making that argument. It isn’t the best one, but one that can sway a few McCain Democrats to vote for Obama.

So here they are, the 3 Cherniak Laws of Party Unity

1) Do not call your opposition stupid. Do not call the supporters of the opposition stupid. This will make them angry, and probably vote against you out of spite. Do not say things like “I don’t understand how people do not see it my way”.

2) When half the party voted for somebody else, you need the other half. Include your opposition in the decision making process, and don’t call them out when they don’t blindly follow along. Having people like Bill Richardson saying things like, “Obama will remember you if you support before June 3rd,” is not helping anybody at this point. 300 superdelegates supported the other candidate. Are these people completely screwed? If Richardson becomes the VP, a lot of Clinton supporters will probably see it in a very negative way.

3) Do not question the “loyalty” of people who are skeptical of your party’s candidate. Calling Hillary supporters who want to vote for McCain things like “disloyal” and “not real Democrats” is not hurting anyone but the Democratic Party. Do not forget that if there is a term called “Reagan Democrats”, it means there are Democrats who have voted Republican in the past. Don’t antagonize people. I was a Liberal for 10 years. Saying I am not a Liberal because I did not support a bumbling disaster, who was not making any effort to stop bumbling or stop being a disaster, is insulting my intelligence and the intelligence of many others. If some Clinton supporters think Obama is a disaster, make them think otherwise, or at least try to. You won’t get them all, but you will get more than just calling all the Clintonistas “not real Democrats.”

Experts are Hard to Come By

2008-06-05T02:51:00.003-04:00

So, for months the Conservatives listened long and hard at the Zytaruk tape. And despite Stephen Harper discussing what was said in the tape, after months of investigations and Iam sure, thousands of dollars to pay these “experts”, the Conservatives have determined that the tape was a FORGERY!

Why?

Because apparently, if a reporter stops the tape, then starts it again, he might as well throw the tape out the window.

So what is the moral of the story here folks? There are two.

If ever you say something stupid to a reporter, turn around and walk away. Then, when he turns the recorder off, "swivel around on your heels" and start talking again, so you can later unleash a pack of lawyers on the unassuming reporter.

Most importantly, the real lesson is...

If you have evil lawyers and millions of dollars to spend, you can make a decent enough allegation that anything is a forgery, even the Conservative Party of Canada…

DNC Sends Democracy Back 200 Years

2008-05-31T19:43:00.002-04:00

Regardless of the specifics and halving the delegations, the Rules and By-Laws Committee actually took delegates away from Hillary Clinton and awarded them to Barack Obama.

That is correct.

A committee of 30 people took support of Michigan voters who had VOTED for Hillary Clinton, and awarded it to Barack Obama.

Even if you believe that all the voters who voted uncommitted intended to vote for Obama, that still gives him 55 delegates and the DNC awarded him 59…

Harold Ickes, visibly upset at the decision, reserved the right of the Clinton campaign to take this decision to Denver, and I think the Clinton campaign will.

Remember, Obama would probably have won anyway, but now the RBC has gone beyond its mandate and actually made decisions for 250 000 voters, and furthermore, completely disenfranchised some Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton, we can now expect the Clintons will fight even harder.

The DNC wanted unity, and over 4 half-delegates, they have earned themselves a longer fight….

Obama Supporters Taking Party Unity Lessons from Dionistas?

2008-05-30T16:03:00.001-04:00

President McCain is becoming more likely by the day.

Hillary is "white entitlement"?

There went a few hundred thousand votes...

What will they say next week to further alienate the voters?

Journal De Montreal is BACK!

2008-05-30T08:41:00.001-04:00

When the “BEST SCANDAL EVER” broke out last week, everybody thought the Journal de Montreal would be all over it. This had all the makings of a perfect scandal: government minister, sex, bikers, sex, secret documents, bugged beds, sex…

Instead Journal de Montreal, and TVA were mysteriously quiet on the original scandal. They reported something very small and did not release Julie Couillard’s name. Of course, everybody jumped on Pierre-Karl Peladeau, accusing the media mogul of being a conservative shill.

It was very uncharacteristic for this media outlet not to report something as tabloid as this…either they are shilling for Bernier (who was helping them at Industry on the cellphone spectrum issue) or for the Hell’s Angels.

So, when Julie Couillard gives her interview where she tells all, and then the big news flashes on the front page, guess who gets the big scoop? Quebecor!

Which led others to ask more questions…like, if Quebecor isn’t shilling for Bernier, JdeM and TVA would be shilling…for the bikers?

It might be that PKP is cutting ties with Bernier, who wouldn’t be able to help him anymore.

Interesting story around these circles in Quebec, one that would certainly be fit for…you guessed it…the Journal de Montreal

Things That Worry Me

2008-05-30T08:19:00.003-04:00

"Flaherty tries to ease public's economic worries"

Based on how he eased the economy in Ontario, I kind of see a reason for people to be worried...

Obama Supporters Crossing a Very Dangerous Line

2008-05-27T16:35:00.002-04:00

Knock Hillary Clinton’s motives all you want but she does have the moral high ground here. All the votes should count. If Puerto Rico and Guam get to help decide, Michigan and Florida should decide as well.

After Saturday, John McCain will be able to run ads saying “here is Barack Obama trying to silence the people of Michigan and Florida”.

Since the race is “over”, I really suggest Obama not give McCain this type of opportunity to gain an edge in a state that, if it goes red, will give Obama a much tougher time in winning the electoral college.

Reasonably Accomodating Racists

2008-05-24T19:26:00.002-04:00

I have written many times why I feel the need to say that I am a Quebecker, and a Canadian. I do not wish to choose between the two, nor do I favor one or the other. The Quebec identity I adhere to was forged in the streets of Montreal, with Italians, Greeks, Latin Americans, Africans, adding their taste to the French Canadian culture that already exists. It is such a great vision of Quebec society.

Over the past few months, many Quebeckers have been outraged at each other. Some were outraged at the customs of immigrants, who dared do things differently. Others, like me, thought maybe some Quebeckers also needed integrating, into the 21st century.

For those of us in Montreal who have absorbed all the wonderful cultures of the world that this city offers us, the hearings out in the regions stunned us. Quebec has a reputation for tolerance. The real problem behind that statement is that by telling everyone Quebec is tolerant, we forgot to go out and make sure that statement was true.

I am of the firm belief that we only arrived at this contentious debate as we strayed away from the traditional debate in Quebec, recognition and federal-provincial squabbles. They have governed this province for 40 years. After 1982, the PQ enraged Quebec with the “night of the long knives” story of Ottawa and English Canada betraying Quebec. With the recognition of Quebec as a nation and the resolving of the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces, Quebecers were left with a void, and the Parti Quebecois, and even the Liberals in Quebec, who have built a symbiotic relationship with the PQ, were completely destabilized by a new force, the ADQ, talking about underlying racial tension in the regions outside Montreal and all over Quebec.

As Mario Dumont found out recently, Montrealers don’t buy his racially divisive garbage, and hopefully Jean Charest and I hope Pauline Marois, will work diligently to help the Quebeckers who feel threatened about their way of life, come to accept what we in Montreal get to experience every day. This means the PQ needs to stop being paranoid about the French langauge. It is not going anywhere. Learning English does not destroy French.

Multiculturalism and immigration do not destroy ways of life, but enhance them. Hopefully, within a few years, Quebec can finally deserve the reputation it has had as a tolerant society.

The one question now is: Where do we go from here?

Guess the Quote

2008-05-22T17:35:00.003-04:00

“We need hope.

Hope that our environment can be saved. Hope that Canada can make a positive difference for life on this planet.

Not false hope based on phony policies and empty promises.

But real hope.

Hope based on a clear vision. Hope based on the courage to make tough choices. Hope based on the ambition to effect real change and revolutionize the way we do environmental policy in Canada.

Hope based on real leadership.”

For the Land of Hmm

2008-05-22T08:55:00.001-04:00

State polls for the general election are beginning to appear in the swing states for the November election. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both do well in some red states, albeit different ones. Since we all know popular vote doesn’t matter, here is a batch of polls released this past couple of weeks. (caveat: the election is months away)

Colorado (red state, 9 electoral college votes)

Obama 48 McCain 42
McCain 47 Clinton 44

Missouri (red state 11 electoral college votes)

Clinton 48 McCain 46
McCain 48 Obama 45

Iowa (red state, 7 electoral college votes)

Obama 44 McCain 42
McCain 45 Clinton 42

These three are margin of error polls, so take them with a grain of salt, with Obama pulling ahead in Colorado.

Here is one with a bigger margin.

The gimme is Arkansas, where Clinton is the former governor’s wife.

Arkansas (red state, 6 electoral college votes)
Clinton 53 McCain 39
McCain 57 Obama 33

Now we get to the big swing states with more college votes

Ohio (red state, 20 electoral votes)
Clinton 50 McCain 43
McCain 45 Obama 44

If one is going to argue Colorado is a big margin, they would need to argue this one is a big margin as well…

North Carolina (red state, 15 electoral college votes)

McCain 51 Obama 43
Clinton 49 McCain 43

The most startling gap, in my opinion is the next one, especially a sore point for some Democrats, since this state will not get any delegates to the national convention.

Florida (red state, 27 electoral votes)
McCain 50 Obama 40
Clinton 47 McCain 41

No blue states have shown much vulnerability in recent weeks. Obama was back up by 8 over McCain in Pennsylvania (21), which should allay the fears of some Democrats.

One that could also switch red is New Hampshire (4), which likes McCain very much.

Polls also show both Democrats winning New Mexico (5).

The Democrats have traditionally done well in West Virginia (5). There is no polling data from there as of yet.

Lay Off My Spouse…Unless Your Spouse is a Racist

2008-05-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

Barack Obama telling Republicans to stop attacking his wife for making an unpatriotic comment really puzzled me for three reasons.

Firstly, does Obama actually think the Republicans will be nice this presidential campaign? Even though he was forceful, saying “lay off my spouse”, it was still whining and Presidents don’t whine. She said what she said. Live with it. The Republicans will not do you any favors.

Secondly, you can’t blame McCain for ads a state Republican Party runs…if you don’t blame Obama for comments they are making about Cindy McCain about her tax return. McCain can’t control his entire party, and if Obama really thinks McCain can exert that kind of influence, he better be prepared to defend all the spots made by Democrats until November.

Thirdly, and most startlingly, Obama does not want his wife to face criticism, yet this is the campaign that ran around South Carolina calling Bill Clinton, who many Black people called the “First Black President” while he was in office, a racist. They attacked and smeared Bill Clinton, Hillary’s spouse, when it would benefit them, but now that his wife faces criticism, it’s “lay off”.

All this leads me to believe either Obama wants a double-standard, which would not be anything new, or he is simply naïve and inexperienced, both of which are far worse than anything his wife has ever said.

On A Carbon Tax

2008-05-18T20:43:00.001-04:00

I have always supported a carbon tax, because if we truly believe that carbon based emissions are causing permanent environmental damage, and personal health damage, the government is in its right to tax it, the same way it taxes cigarettes and alcohol.

This is why I supported the idea 2 years ago when someone explained to me why this would not be a simple tax grab, but just punishing those who pollute, and rewarding those who save. Since then, the youth wing in Quebec always advocated the implementation of a carbon tax.

Here is David Suzuki today on Question Period.

Poor Jack!, I think the Liberals may have their election ad…

"I'm really shocked at the NDP on this, because I had thought the NDP had a very progressive outlook on this, and that astounds me. We have the same thing in British Columbia, a government that has proposed a carbon tax, and I take my hat off to them. Economists have been telling us that this is the most effective way to get people to change their behavior, and to have the NDP in British Columbia attacking this just astounds me, because there is just no question, this is the way to go. It's revenue neutral, it's not a tax grab, governments can use the revenue to help people, tax rebates for lower income. To oppose, this because of ideology or something is just nonsense. This is something that has got to come."

Will This Be Repeated At Toronto Fundraisers?

2008-05-12T23:35:00.001-04:00

An excerpt from the Leaders Dinner in Montreal tonight

“I said that we Quebecers formed a nation when Stephen Harper had goose bumps hearing talk about distinct society. I have never seen any opposition between the Quebec nation and the Canadian nation. I am a little guy from Quebec [City]; there is nothing too nice for the city of Quebec. Quebec [City] is the cradle of Quebecers, Quebec is the cradle of French Canadians and all North American francophones. But the country we know, Canada, would never have been possible without [Quebec City founder Samuel De] Champlain and without what happened in 1608. Quebec is the cradle of the whole of Canada.”

On Race and 2008 Presidential Election

2008-05-12T23:16:00.003-04:00

Poor “blue collar white people” who Obama cannot connect to are “bitter” at their lives so they “cling” to things.

But yeah, apparently all the “bitter” people are supporting Clinton.

Something tells me if Obama doesn’t shape up fast and apologize to these people, the bitter vote will cling to John McCain, and it will have nothing to do with race.

Nice to meet you...so are you a terrorist?

2008-05-11T11:17:00.004-04:00

Now when I *meet* someone, I like to get to know them better. I ask about their hobbies, their interests, if they cheer for the Canadiens, you know, the basic, but important stuff.

Now thankfully I have left the political realm, because if I was ever Minister of Foreign Affairs, my first dates would go alot differently...

Me: Hi

Unlucky suitor no.1: Hello there, nice to meet you. I have heard so many things...

Me: thats what I was afraid of

Unlucky suitor no. 1: haha

Me: so are you a terrorist?

Unlucky suitor no. 1: Excuse me?

Me: are you affiliated with bikers or organized crime?

Unlucky suitor no.1: Um no. Why are you asking these questions?

Me: I'm sorry it comes with my job. When the RCMP and CSIS look into your past, are they gonna find any pictures of you with shady people? Those opposition members sure are pesky.

Unlucky Suitor no.1: Check please!

See, this is the problem with the whole kerfuffle about Maxime Bernier and his ex-girlfriend.

"The state has no affairs in the bedrooms of the nation."

The nation also has no affairs in the bedrooms of the state. It works both ways.

Here is a quote spoken just seconds after Trudeau made the famous one above.

"what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code."

It also does not concern Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Gilles Duceppe and company.

And using national security as an excuse to violate even this basic principle is very...um...whats the word im looking for here...big brother. We try and protect civil liberties in Canada. The last thing we want is the government monitoring everything "in the interest of national security".

Oops I Did It Again

2008-05-07T02:46:00.010-04:00

Oh my god is it a hideous monster?

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WORSE

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After a 2 year hiatus....

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..
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THE BLOND IS BACK

Class Warfare

2008-05-05T14:08:00.001-04:00

Growing up, I was thrust into a world that was very unfamiliar to me. I was the son of two working class parents, living from paycheque to paycheque, attending Lower Canada College…

Given that I was politically oriented from a very early age, I always found it was very interesting to live in one world during the day, and heading home to a different one at night. One way to really understand class is to experience two different ones on a daily basis like I did for 7 years.

Being (somewhat) educated, I am able to listen to politicians and find faults in their arguments pretty easily. I’ve gotten pretty good at tearing people down.

However, I know when an idea is going to be popular. My extreme distaste for populism stems from politicians taking advantage of a large group of people who simply don’t know better. I disliked John Edwards because I believed he was a person with a 400$ haircut trying to take advantage of average working class Americans. Some may call that snobbery. How do I know what is best for people? In our own way, we all judge others for political decisions they make because we feel we are more intelligent than they are. Where is the balance?

My father is a janitor at a shopping mall at the corner of Frontenac and Ontario streets in the Hochelaga district of Montreal. I spent many days there as a kid, even working there one summer as a stockboy as my classmates were in Europe or on a beach somewhere. Those who know Montreal well know the area. It is poor; filled with people who are the victims of bad decisions or have made bad decisions themselves.

The memory that stayed with me the most from that summer was on the first day of August, the manager of the store where I worked asked me to go deposit a cheque at the Caisse Populaire in the mall. As I strolled around the corner, I saw a line of at least 200 people waiting at the bank. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My dad sees me there shell-shocked and comes over to me laughing. “Tony, it is the first of the month, not everybody lives like your friends at school. Hurry up and go earn your money.”

Later that day, I was at the depanneur in the strip mall on my lunch break, buying my dad cigarettes (I was 14 lol). I had a conversation with the owner of the depanneur, who was grinning from ear to ear. He explained to me that the first of the month was like Christmas in the place. “Nothing beats being the guy selling the cigarettes next to a Caisse Pop when people get their welfare checks.” I think I am still somewhat traumatized by that lazy summer August day. I didn’t learn the value of a dollar that day; I earned the value of an earned dollar.

I wanted to take that story to remind people why nobody in Indiana or North Carolina is listening to economists in their ivory towers right now surrounding the gas tax holiday issue. Will giving Americans a break on the gas tax in the United States bring down the cost of oil? Of course it won’t. When we looked at policy to bring down the cost of gas, we found there was no short term solution, that 70$ for a barrel of oil would continue going up in the short term and that alternate sources of energy, including ethanol, which is causing a global food shortage, would bring down the cost of a barrel of crude oil.

Also, you can use coal to make oil at the cost of 55 dollars a barrel, at a huge detriment to the environment. If the US moved to do that immediately, the price of gasoline could fall almost a dollar a gallon by the end of the decade. Using coal to make oil would also be another short term solution, but long term, for the sake of the environment, we need to waste less energy, and produce more renewable energy. When oil was at 70$ a barrel this didn’t seem worth it. When oil is 115$ dollars a barrel, it may be time to consider it as a temporary option.

The only thing a government can directly control in the short-term is the gas tax, and in Canada’s case, the GST on the gas tax. Eliminating either is not a long-term solution. However, a holiday on the tax at the expense of the oil companies, who are taking in billions, is not impossible.

I know it sounds like Robin Hood taking from the rich and giving to the poor, but basically what Clinton is saying to the American people is: “Okay, I can give you a little break this summer and make the oil companies pay for gouging consumers. However, if we want this to stop, we have to get serious on alternate sources of fuel.” There has never been a better opportunity to get the American people onside with alternate sources of energy than now, as they are paying record prices for gas.

So to all those economists, yes it is only 30 dollars. However, those are 30 earned dollars to those people. So while economists drink a 7 dollar latte, a working family in Indiana can afford to buy that extra loaf of bread, or rent that movie to entertain the kids because they can’t afford to take them out. Never tell anybody what their dollar is worth to them.

That is the glaring mistake Obama and his Obamaniacs are making by calling this a scheme and not giving it serious thought. When people say things like “that is only 30$, pennies a day”, they sound elitist, because they are saying these people do not need the money, and that oil companies should just pocket the 8 billion dollars.

To be fair, Obama also said he would tax windfall profits and use the money to invest in renewable energy. Probably a wise thing to do in the long term. However, people are struggling now. They need relief now. The American spirit can only take these people so far. Telling them there is nothing we can do about this for the next 10-15 years is lying to their faces Barack, there is only things you do not want to do.

This is the very difficult lesson Hillary and Bill Clinton are teaching Obama as they barnstorm through small-town Indiana and North Carolina.

When Obama says these people do not need that money, he sounds like a guy who went to Lower Canada College, telling everybody that he knows better than them, that he knows what to do with their money. What working-class Americans are responding back is that after hearing Obama tell them that their earned money isn’t useful to them, his change is something they can do without…

Best Ad of the 08 Presidential Race

2008-04-30T11:30:00.001-04:00

I know my support for Hillary has caused a stir among many of my friends.

I wanted to link an ad which I believe to be the best I have seen so far. If Hillary were to somehow miraculously win the nomination, I would run this ad against John McCain all day long.

Just WOW

2008-04-29T20:01:00.000-04:00

I keep telling people nothing surprises me about politics anymore.

I was proven wrong today by the Conservative Party.

If I were an ambitious opposition party, I would bother asking the Conservatives if they have any confidence in the Ontario Superior Court, who signed the warrant.

They should also ask if they have confidence in the RCMP, who carried out the “visit”.

Would Harper even ask the GG for an election if he loses a confidence vote? Can he turn his fate to a body his government has no confidence in? I am simply floored…

Gay Bar Settles Discrimination Lawsuit

2008-04-29T14:11:00.001-04:00

Bar Le Stud, a local leather bar (and before you ask, eww no) here in Montreal has settled a lawsuit brought forward by a woman who was not served by the bar because she had a vag and it was a gay bar.

Some in the gay community were incensed that a gay bar couldn’t refuse female patrons. I thought differently. The thing about equal rights people is that they have to be equal. The majority doesn’t have the right to keep out the minority, and yes, the minority doesn’t have the right to keep the majority out.

Liberal Party Elects Unilingual President

2008-04-28T18:22:00.004-04:00

Edit: I had four different people from different parts of the Liberal Party confirm to me he was not, in fact, bilingual.

He will be speaking to the media in the upcoming days and we will be able to see for ourselves.

The point of this post was NEVER to smear anyone. I have met Doug Ferguson once, and I admit I did not speak to him in French. He is a good person. I know lots of unilingual good people.

If he is bilingual, and not bilingual in the Cory Pike way, but you know, able to speak and comprehend both languages, then I apologize, and I will be very glad to inform the four people who told me otherwise that they were indeed misinformed.

I will reiterate again my belief that any official, in any national party ,who speaks on behalf of a national party like a President or National Director, does need to be bilingual.

Sigh. Is it so hard to find someone who can speak two languages in this country?

I know Brigitte is 28 (Happy Birthday Brig!) but at least she took the time to learn English.

Poulin was the first President of the Party since David Johnston to be bilingual. (for the record that was back in 1994)

The point is the Liberal Party would never elect a President who did not speak English.

I know the Tory Party President isn't bilingual either.

Shame on both of them if you ask me.

The Liberals are the party of bilingualism. They should be held to a higher standard. I want to see a Liberal come tell me the LPC would entertain electing a unilingual francophone as Party President.

Also Filed Under "Things that Will End Well"

2008-04-26T12:24:00.001-04:00

Shane Doan named Captain of Team Canada

taking bets on the number of people who are about to look mighty stupid...

File This One Under “Things That Will End Well”

2008-04-25T16:30:00.003-04:00

Marie Poulin had to step down as LPC President and the LPC is looking for a replacement. Under the statutes of the party, the replacement for President must be either the VP Anglophone or VP Francophone of the party.

So the Liberal Party may be entering a federal election with one of 2 possibilities for LPC President.

Either one who cannot communicate with a quarter of Canadians, or someone who is bilingual but is celebrating her 28th birthday in a couple of days.

I think somebody will owe me a beer after this one...

Stephane Dion Getting a Little Help from Beyond?

2008-04-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

It was a brilliant PR move to send Stephane Dion to the Habs-Bruins finale on Monday night. Sitting him between Ken Dryden and the Big M was certain to get the Liberal leader some free air time. The crowd will always give Ken Dryden an ovation.

Now remember Stephane, the PHILADELPHIA FLYERS. Start throwing the name Harper around with Hextall and compare Jack! Layton to Danny Briere for all his incessant whining.

Speaking of Monday night, how many of you could hear Harry Sinden screaming GHOSTS when Mike Komisarek’s shot went off a Bruin stick and by Tim Thomas? Or when Mark Streit did his best Maurice Richard impression in the 2nd period to go up 2-0?

Many former Habs have gone on to be great supporters of the Liberal Party, notably Ken Dryden and Serge Savard. They can all attest to the magic that surrounds the Montreal Canadiens and the city of Montreal during playoff time. The Liberals have a little magic of their own. How many times have the Liberals unexpectedly been saved by irrational circumstances? Maybe the ghosts of Mackenzie King, Laurier, Saint Laurent, and Trudeau are rearing their heads…much to the dismay of the Conservatives…

A few months ago (maybe weeks?), Stephane Dion was a listless leader with no grip on his own party, no support in his home province outside Montreal, and no chance in hell at becoming Prime Minister, a first for a Liberal leader in over a century. Now a Conservative scandal a day with only days left to force an election before the summer and it is looking more and more likely Dion will be moving into 24 Sussex in time for Canada Day. Some call it luck, but during playoff time in Montreal, we call it ghosts.

The biggest non-hockey ovation of the night went to none other than JEAN CHRETIEN. I have to point something out to the Quebec Liberals who like to rail on Chretien. When Jean Chretien became Liberal leader, the Forum crowd booed the English words to O Canada. Now they give Jean Chretien an ovation. How times have changed…

Conspiracy Theories Abound

2008-04-23T17:27:00.000-04:00

I had a conversation with a friend about why Elections Canada would go to a judge in Toronto to get a warrant signed when it could just have easily sought a judge in Ottawa.

Did Elections Canada go judge-shopping? The warrant seemed like it could have been signed by any judge. Elections Canada had all the evidence it needed to get a warrant. They really didn’t need to go to Toronto to find a Liberal-appointed judge anyway. Besides, I am sure Ottawa has its fair share.

Judges are politically appointed. However, they are expected to be objective. If the warrant was bad, and a judge allowed a search anyway, the judge would face expulsion and possibly criminal charges. Conservatives can scream all they want, no judge is going to jail for the Liberal Party…

So even if it was a Liberal-appointed judge, is this where the infamous “leak” came from? I doubt it, since the media arrived before the Liberal Party, and even at that, EC had already been there for hours. Like I said before, no judge would risk their job and even jail time over this. It is likely, someone in the building saw people going to CPC HQ and carrying out boxes. It really wouldn’t take long for one person to tell somebody else. CTV is across the street. It wouldn’t take long before everybody and anybody was on the scene.

Ottawa is a small town, word gets around fast.

That is when it dawned on me.

Ottawa is a small town, word gets around fast.

If EC went to the Superior Court in Ottawa to get this warrant, word may get out, and word may get out to Conservative officials, giving them ample time to gear up the shredders. I am not accusing the Tories of hiding evidence. However, I hardly blame EC for taking any chances. Their job was to get what they were after, and word getting out to the Conservative Party would probably jeopardize the entire investigation.

In the end Elections Canada got what they wanted, and the Conservatives didn’t get a heads up, meaning that we will now be able to get to the bottom of this. But before the Conservatives go about smearing the reputation of the Canadian Justice system, they should probably realize that Elections Canada went to Toronto to make sure the Canadian Justice system would be able to function properly, and in turn, do what it is mandated to do to the Canadian people. Some people may not like that. The law doesn’t care…

Liberals Eyeing Election Victory for June 16th

2008-04-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

Well, after accidentally becoming leader of the Liberal Party, Stephane Dion has a very good chance of accidentally becoming Prime Minister. While Quebec newspaper editors are trying to prevent their heads from exploding, Stephane Dion has about a 50% chance of overtaking the Tories in seats in the House of Commons, potentially taking a minority government with as little as 120 seats.

Stephane Dion may be headed into a perfect storm in the coming months. The Conservatives, who managed some popular populist measures in their 2 years in office, have not managed to convince more than 40% of Canadians that a right wing party is the right choice for Canada.

The last election was fought on ethics, and while Paul Martin and his band of merry men look flustered when it came to the conduct of their party, after footage of an RCMP raid hits the airwaves in Liberal ads, Gomery will only look like a thing of the past. There won’t be any news of an RCMP investigation into the government to hurt the Liberals, but there may be one haunting Stephen Harper. Not to mention Cadscam, which may not be enough to charge the Tories with fraud, but it will certainly be enough to warrant an investigation, especially with the Prime Minister on tape talking about offers.

Then there are expectations. The expectations for Stephane Dion are so painfully low, that all he has to do to surpass them is not screw up. Nobody understands Dion when he speaks English you say? Well if voters understand what Dion has to say during the campaign, it will already be a plus!

What about Jack! Layton? Well, maybe Canadians thought Jack! had a point when he asked Canadians to “park their vote with the NDP, just this once”. If I were an ambitious Young Liberal, I would get a copy of that quote, because it is time for Jack! to pay the piper. Canadians have surely learned their lesson. Parking your vote with the NDP will get your vote towed.

What is Stephane Dion supposed to do about the rising green Party movement in Canada? He needs to offer a real green plan that he will implement. He can even challenge the other parties to throw his government out if he fails to come through on his promise. He needs something substantive, especially a Carbon “Call-Me-Tax-If-You-Have-To” Investment Account. If May sees that the only way this will happen will be for her voters in swing ridings to throw out their Tory MPs, the message will go out. It won’t send thousands of votes to the Liberals, but in many ridings a few hundred will be enough.

Dion has shown leadership a couple of times while he served as a minister, most importantly when he negotiated the tricky Clarity Act through Parliament, after days of filibustering by the Bloc. “Just like I promised the Separatists would not steal this country, I promise the Conservatives will not pollute it.” Was that so hard?

Speaking of Quebec, it may the province that puts Stephane Dion into office. Cue the irony! Harper and Dion are competing for exactly ZERO of the same Quebec seats. In the ridings the Tories are after, the Liberals poll in single digits and vice versa, where the Tory vote in Liberal ridings peaks in the teens. Gilles Duceppe has made it clear he will focus mostly on saving his hide by attacking Harper. (it makes sense since attacking Dion will increase Harper’s votes in the close ridings outside Montreal.)

There are 5 or 6 ridings in the Montreal area which the BQ’s new turn to the right may alienate and are potential pickups for the Liberals, including the NDP riding of Outremont, where Tom Mulcair will have to expect the separatist voters who helped elect him may not be so supportive in a general election, especially when all the students have moved out of their residences…

As for me, I’ll be moving out April 28th (sorry Massimo) and I’ll be moving to Outremont in the McGill ghetto, and from what the students down there are telling me, by the time I get there, most of the NDP machine at McGill which worked tirelessly for Tom Mulcair, will be safely home in Toronto…

So as the pundits prepare to assail Stephane Dion for calling an election now, after months of backing down, they should really note that many small things are in Dion’s favor, and with a bit of momentum, we may see Prime Minister Stephane Dion back in the fall…

Backing Down…and Loving It!

2008-04-19T01:16:00.006-04:00

Guess the Politician!

“I am not running because I want to focus my attention on the upcoming federal election. I would rather fight Stephen Harper than fight my own party.”

(ok so I am paraphrasing)

Is it Gilles Duceppe realizing he could never beat Pauline Marois?

No, it is Denise Brunsdon realizing she can’t beat Sam Lavoie.

Maybe we should call her Denise Duceppe. After all, they’ll likely both be gone after the next federal election…

Jokes aside...

Denise, I never knew you to back down from a fight, EVER. We both know the YLC needs this kind of a race to happen. Fight your election, tell Janice Sam will show up, and come back and dance.

Don Cherry's Face Was Priceless!

2008-04-13T00:10:00.003-04:00

Harry Sinden once said there are 3 certain things in life: death, taxes, and the first penalty against the Boston Bruins at the Montreal Forum.

When Brisebois' shot hit the post as the 3rd ended, a smile came across Tim Thomas' face. Where were the Montreal ghosts for that one?

They were waiting til 2 and a half minutes into overtime. What guided Kovalev's shot over Thomas' shoulder? You could hear Harry Sinden muttering it now...ghosts...

Are the Liberals Abstaining from the NHL Playoffs too?

2008-04-11T18:58:00.002-04:00

So the Conservative minister for Public Works, the “most accountable minister in the Senate” Michael Fortier put his foot in his mouth by predicting the Habs would lose to the Rangers in the 2nd round. It was an educated guess and with the plethora of playoff performers on the Ranger team, actually quite possible.

It was a bonehead move and the Liberals could have used it to embarrass the Conservative Party. Senate Liberal Leader and Quebec Lieutenant Celine “I survived another week” Hervieux Payette even presented Fortier with a Ranger jersey.

An alert reporter asked Stephane Dion who the Habs were playing in the playoffs. Never mind the fact that just saying Boston will make you correct 90% of the time, how could you live in Montreal and not be aware of the playoff madness that has swept the city? Is he really that detached from what is going on in Montreal?

I know Stephane Dion has no idea who the Boston Bruins are but the Bruins sure did their best Liberal impression on the ice last night…by not showing up to play…

Update: The cartoonists are ever so merciless in Montreal

Denise Brunsdon to Run for YLC President

2008-04-03T22:50:00.001-04:00

What has transparency and democracy done to deserve this?

Harper Takes A Necessary Gamble

2008-04-02T14:08:00.002-04:00

Jean-Pierre Blackburn opened a can of worms this morning when he mentioned the possibility of re-opening the Canadian Constitution if the Conservatives were to be elected to a majority government. Most pundits agree that if Stephen Harper were to get a majority government, the lion’s share of new seats would be in Quebec.

Blackburn’s sortie is no accident. We all know that Stephen Harper keeps a pretty short leash on his ministers so this is Harper’s way of finding out how much he can gain in Quebec while measuring the amount of convulsions Canada’s English media will have at the mention of the word Constitution.

Many people know I am a major advocate of re-opening the constitution, especially if it is done the way Trudeau did it, with consultations, chance for amendments, and not done by 10 premiers in a smoke-filled boardroom.

I will note one thing here. Pierre Trudeau, in his opposition to Meech Lake, said amending the Constitution is something that should happen once in a generation. We are approaching 26 years since 1982, and now that we have 2 parties in Quebec City open to this idea, this is an opportunity to really put the sovereigntists in a pickle.

What should the other parties do?

The NDP was always a proponent of this, so expect Tom Mulcair to stand up on his chair and yell at the top of his lungs how wonderful this is, especially if the Liberals oppose it.

The Bloc can’t really be opposed to negotiations, which will only take place if they get decimated in an election. I don’t wanna be Gilles Duceppe right now.

As for “poor” Stephane Dion (h/t Liza Frulla), his original opposition to the nation resolution gained him much support among English Canada’s media and bagged him many votes as the fiasco erupted just days before Super Weekend. His cautious attitude also earned him the respect of Gerard Kennedy, and maybe even his delegates once Kennedy fell off the ballot.

If Dion supports this, he is turning his back on all the people who elected him leader. He also gives himself a fighting chance at regaining some ground in Quebec.

If he opposes with the Constitutional “boogeyman” argument comprised of fear tactics, a Justin Trudeau speech about his father, and a slew of angry English media pundits, he sacrifices his chances in Quebec, but gives himself a fighting chance to remake ground in Ontario and elsewhere across the country.

Stephen Harper is already halfway across the street with the constitutional issue, having passed the motion about the nation and having made overtures to the two federalist parties in Quebec.
Stephane Dion may have finally found a wedge issue to go into an election with, but if he does, he will be turning his back on his home province, proving right all those who called him a traitor for the last 15 years.

Ce serait un beau risque pour Stephen Harper...mais un risque potentiellement mortel pour Stephane Dion…

Islam recognizes homosexuality

2008-04-01T11:28:00.000-04:00

Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.

Moderate Muslim scholars said there were no reasons to reject homosexuals under Islam, and that the condemnation of homosexuals and homosexuality by mainstream ulema and many other Muslims was based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teachings.

Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace cited the Koran's al-Hujurat (49:3) that one of the blessings for human beings was that all men and women are equal, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, social positions or even sexual orientation.

"There is no difference between lesbians and nonlesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety," she told the discussion organized by nongovernmental organization Arus Pelangi.

"And talking about piety is God's prerogative to judge," she added.

"The essence of the religion (Islam) is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them."

Musdah said homosexuality was from God and should be considered natural, adding it was not pushed only by passion.

Denis Did His Job

2008-03-31T17:39:00.002-04:00

I have to laugh at some of the bloggers hailing Stephane Dion’s shadow cabinet shuffle specifically for moving Denis Coderre out of a portfolio where a critic really was no longer necessary. As defence critic, Denis Coderre helped convince Stephane Dion that his previous position, while the popular one was not the correct one. I don’t know about you guys, but in my eyes, that should be viewed as a success. The Liberals got on the right of an issue even if they knew doing the opposite would get them more votes.

So in his time as defence critic, Denis Coderre managed to forge a consensus for his party to make the ultimately correct decision, and he lasted longer than his counterpart, who had to be hurriedly shuffled out last year.

He moves on to Heritage and Josee Verner, who Denis is once quoted as describing as “a simple-minded person who has no place in cabinet”. In Quebec, Heritage is a higher-profile portfolio than Defence, and I personally can’t wait for Denis, as critic for the CBC, finds out how wonderful Don Cherry is towards French Canadians.

So to Denis Coderre, my friend, I want to offer my congratulations on getting the job done. I wish you the same success with Josee Verner that you had with Gordon O’Connor!

The Blame Game in Quebec is not Over

2008-03-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

Forgive my pessimism, but there is a lot of blaming and not a lot of changing going on in the LPC(Q). Both the party officials and the Lieutenant are still at odds and nobody is doing anything to alleviate the situation.

Nobody can stop the Pierre-Luc Belleroses of the world who just want their name in the newspapers and will make up anything to make it happen. (Not to mention overzealous journalists and editors who will print anything.)

The party officials are trying to calm the situation down but what Steve Pinkus did last weekend accomplished exactly what he claimed to be upset about.

As for the Lieutenant, she should probably stop trying to save safe seats for her friends and try and keep whatever small amount of star Quebec candidates the Liberals still have left instead of ignoring people for months. Marc Garneau only got his seat by going to the press. Do Liberals want this to happen with the others as well?

If the party officials keep airing out their differences to the press, nothing will change.

If the lieutenant keeps stonewalling star candidates instead using them to try and gain some traction in Quebec, nothing will change.

Because both sides believe they are right, and have believed it for the past few months, nothing will change and the blame game in Quebec is far from over.

Are White People Even Welcome in Barack Obama’s Church?

2008-03-27T01:24:00.000-04:00

The Obamaniacs have their panties in a twist because Hillary Clinton said she would have left the church where Pastor Jeremiah Wright spewed his racist hatred.

Seriously, it does say something about Obama’s character when, as the son of a white woman and having been raised by a white woman, if your own priest tells you AIDS was invented by the white man to kill black people, that he sat there silent and didn’t call out Jeremiah Wright, continuing to sit there and listen to that garbage.

It says something very telling about Barack Obama’s character. Besides, the Obamaniacs should know that if Hillary Clinton didn’t ask the question in March, John McCain would have asked it in August September and October.

Now I don’t go to church because my priest says people like me are going to hell. I know Catholicism is all about guilt tripping but why should I sit there and have somebody hating on me because of the way I was born?

This is seriously what I imagine the KKK’s version of the twilight zone to be, walking into a black church where the preacher is hating on white people.

Would you sit at any church while someone made discriminatory statements against your people? It is a serious question. Ask yourself that. I believe many Americans will be asking themselves the same thing in the very near future…