First such ceremony I haven’t been invited to in a decade. I wonder why?

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True story, too.  By Ritalin Boy.  Fave lyric of all time: “He saw England, he saw France, he made Hitler shit his pants.”

Never played before, anywhere! A world premiere!

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Fidlar is a band from L.A.  Their name is an acronym: Fuck it, dog, life’s a risk.  There are four of them, they are social blemishes, and they are perhaps the greatest band in the history of humankind.

If you were to fuse Black Flag, the Libertines, Birthday Party, Circle Jerks, Fear, Gun Club, Ramones and the Cramps, you would get something like Fidlar.  They sing about getting drunk, getting stoned, being broke and – lots – skateboarding.  They don’t care about school, politics, or anything beyond the next ten minutes. In this way, they are the summit of all rock’n’roll achievement.

My fave band remains the Menzingers, but Fidlar are in the Pennsylvania quartet’s rear-view mirror.  They are everything bands today are not: loud, snotty, passionate, young and committed.  Also, they should be committed.

If I was young again, I’d quit everything, and follow them around North America. I love them that much. (They’re in Toronto on April 5, and Montreal the next night.)

They have a pile of self-made videos on the Internet.  Here is one of them, featuring the enigmatic Alice, a girl who is found in many of them.  Watch it, and see why Fidlar should rule the planet.

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Tasha is always worth reading, if you ask me.

“After losing the premier’s office, why would Pupatello want to take charge of the most difficult file in cabinet? Do a lousy job, and you damage yourself professionally; do a great job, and you help reelect the woman who beat you. Or you can stay in the private sector, make a lot of money, wait for the Liberals to implode, and decide to toss your hat in the ring for leader again.”

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What’s notable about Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau is that he isn’t all that notable.

In fact, he’s just one of a long line of senators who have been associated with wrongdoing, scandal and even crime.

Over the years, there have been plenty of senators who have got in trouble with the law. Brazeau is just the latest.

There have been senators charged and convicted for the usual political scandal trifecta — fraud, theft and breach of trust. There have been senators accused of obstruction of justice.

There have been senators charged with elections offences — even though they don’t really run in elections. There have been prosecutions for influence peddling. There have been investigations for spending taxpayer dollars improperly (two such investigations are underway right now, in fact).

But those sorts of things happen over on the House of Commons side of Parliament quite often, too.

Ministerial resignations, firings, MPs kicked out of caucus. It all happens, and it all happens way too often.

Corruption and law breaking — and now alleged assaults and sexual assaults — are not uniquely the purview of senators.

Members of Parliament break the law, too.

Yet, in the wake of “Senator” Patrick Brazeau’s assault and sexual assault charges, there has been a growing angry chorus demanding the Senate’s abolition.

To many, the latest raft of senatorial scandals is sufficient justification for the closure of the red chamber. The anger is understandable, but the calls for abolition are not.

If crimes, and alleged crimes, are justification for eliminating the Upper Chamber, then we should eliminate the House of Commons, too. MPs break the law more than senators do, after all

No, the Senate should be ended for another reason entirely.

It should be killed off because, in the sort of modern state we profess to be, it is an abomination. It is more than a disgrace — it is a stain on our democracy. It is toxic.

When I worked on Parliament Hill, I knew plenty of senators, of all stripes. Most of them were hard-working, decent people, who desperately wanted to serve the people. In Canada, however, nobody paid them much heed off Parliament Hill.

When some of them travelled to the United States or other countries, however, they would be treated like royalty. That’s because, when our senators are outside Canada, few non-Canadians are aware that they aren’t elected.

When you tell an American that, they are shocked. An appointed legislature? With actual power?

Any dictionary defines “democracy” in the same way. It is a system of government in which the people elect representatives to govern.

Nowhere is it defined as system where a prime minister creates a dumping ground for party hacks and bagmen. Nowhere is it defined as a system where a few get to wield power because they have cronies in power.

You know why people, in increasing numbers, don’t vote? Because they think the political system takes care of only itself. It doesn’t take care of the people.

That’s why fewer and fewer citizens vote.

And, when you look at the Senate of Canada, it’s pretty hard to blame them.

The solution, then, is simple enough.

ABOLISH IT.

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Early reports suggest she lives in Ontario. Exclusive footage at eleven!

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I’m still a bit stunned by this.  A Pope resigning?  Apparently that hasn’t happened in 500 years.

I am a hopeful (and church-going) Irish Catholic. As such, I am hopeful that the next leader of my church:

• Finally ordains women as priests, and permits marriage of priests.
• Finally agrees that gays can enter the sacrament of marriage, and the priesthood, too.
• Finally accepts that abortion should be legal, safe and rare.

Will any of these things happen?  I dunno.  But, a decade ago, if you had suggested a black man could become President of the United States, you would have been laughed at.

So, we continue to pray.

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I was a bit surprised by this part of Harper’s column:

“To Ottawa-based journalists, Duffy betrayed the tribe, insulting those of us who believe our job is to try to hold our elected representatives to account, not to turn on a dime once a patronage plum is dangled.”

Hmm. Except that Ottawa is overflowing with former journalists who have taken positions within government, no? They’re everywhere – as directors of communication and press secretaries and whatnot. Off the top of the head, in fact, I can recall at least two former Star guys (Graham Fraser and Bill Fox) who took a big government appointment. There may be more.

I think the reason why so many journalists target Mike Duffy is because he became such an enthusiastic advocate for a government which openly dislikes journalists. It’s not that he crossed over to the Dark Side – it’s that he crossed over with such glee.

Anyway. The public see politicians and media as all part of the same problem. They don’t see a distinction. They’re all on the Dark Side.

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Star:

Kathleen Wynne picked Charles Sousa as finance minister after leadership runner-up Sandra Pupatello spurned overtures to return to politics, the Star has learned.

And:

The rookie leader was forced to resort to a backup plan Sunday following an unsuccessful four-day effort to recruit Pupatello to run in Windsor—Tecumseh, vacated by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, who is retiring.

“They staked so much on Pupatello coming into the finance ministry that they had to resort to Plan B when that collapsed,” a senior Liberal insider confided Sunday night.

 

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