Because – and I say this as a Church-going one, now in the first week of Lenten observance (no hooch!) – modern Catholics are way more liberal than far-right lunatics like Santorum.  We left his ilk behind back in the Middle Ages.

Saying JFK made him want to “throw up” wasn’t such a good idea, either.  In Irish Catholic households, we still regard that man as our King (much like our Uncrowned King, Parnell, which is a story for another day).

That said, the longer Santorum’s in the race, the happier I am.  He’s practically guaranteeing an Obama victory in the Fall.

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Suddenly, Krista starts speaking loudly in tongues. I remain calm, but alert.

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…who has passed away.

We of the Hot Nasties (like all punks) were huge Monkees fans.  In the Nasties, in fact, we covered Monkees tunes more than any other band’s.

Here’s our take on ‘Steppin’ Stone,’ from our self-made LP.  (If you listen carefully, you can hear my circa-1980 voice break.)

 

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My highly-scientific poll didn’t include “RoboCon” as a choice.  Andrew Coyne told me that was the name, whether I liked it or not.

So, I used that for my Sunday Sun column…but my editors aren’t so sure.  Jury’s still out on the Name the Scandal contest.

In the meantime, here’s a magazine sure to become a big hit:

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Here.

What you have just heard is a criminal offence. More details here.

I don’t give a sweet damn what Con-friendly commentators think about this scandal, or their claims that it is going to die.

It isn’t, because it can’t. There are three phases to this thing.

• Phase One:  For the next few months, there will be more and more stories like the one above leaking out.  Because there are a myriad number of stories, in multiple jurisdictions, Elections Canada and the RCMP will be investigating well into 2013.  There will be search warrants executed and witnesses interviewed.  Demands for judicial inquiries and the like will be relentless, but Harper (remembering sponsorship) will refuse.  That just keeps it alive in the House.
• Phase Two:  As in the sponsorship affair, this is the phase where arrests will commence.  All of the targets will lawyer up, and none will want to take a bullet for the Conservative Party, particularly since they are facing jail time.  This phase will cover late 2013 and into 2014.
• Phase Three:  Prosecutions will take place in 2014, and into 2015.  Because of the complexity of the evidence, they will not be over quickly.  Because some of the defendants will be facing jail time, as noted, they will be doing deals to turn in bigger fish – just like in sponsorship.  They’ll start pointing fingers at their friends; it’s started already, in fact.

What does it all mean?  It means that, because the wheels of justice grind slowly, and because there will be multiple prosecutions, we are going to be reading and hearing about this thing well into 2015.

Which, last time I checked, is an election year.

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We need a pithy phrase to describe this latest attempt by the Harper Reformatories to hijack democracy.  Vote now, vote often (the Cons certainly did)!

And if you have better suggestions, pop ’em in comments!

poll by twiigs.com

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Robo-caller.

(Wow. Suspect people are paying attention to the Robo Scandal.)

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“The RCMP has executed a search warrant at the offices of an Edmonton-based call firm hired by the Conservative Party in the last federal election, as police investigate allegations of voter fraud in the growing “robocall” scandal.

Racknine Inc. is being asked to hand over any data, such as emails or billing records, linking it to the Conservative campaign in Guelph, Ont., where the robocall accusations originated. Residents said they received phone calls directing them to the wrong voting locations.”

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Truly shocking – and unnecessary.

If senior people within the Conservative Party of Canada conspired to rig the May 2011 election – and, increasingly, it looks like they did – what are the consequences?

For Stephen Harper’s party, the penalties could be very, very significant. They range from fines and jail time, to deregistration of Harper’s party and liquidation of its assets.

A recap: as has been well-documented in the media, Conservatives used automated pre-recorded “robocalls” to contact voters in ridings across the country to provide them with false and misleading information about polling stations. Other voters were called late at night and, they say, harassed and intimidated.

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Last week, as in this morning’s Hill Times (below), I decried the willingness of some Liberals I liked to use the “vikileaks30” crap. For my trouble, I was called every name in the book – by former and current Liberal staffers. When Postmedia had all but convicted the NDP of being behind the smear campaign, I found that a bit odd.

No longer. A Liberal did this, and hurt his leader and his party.

So, are we now to believe that this Ontario-based staffer got those divorce pleadings all by himself? That he traveled to Manitoba and back to get them, without anyone’s help?

I don’t think so. But I do think everyone else involved in this dumpster-diving should be fired, too.

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