Actually, as an unrepentant Trekkie – to wit, I sleep every night in a room containing, inter alia, a real Tribble and two signed original series Star Trek scripts, worth kabillions – this news makes me very, very excited. It would, you might say, make me live long and prosper.

Hell, I might even consider voting Conservative if they follow through on this one. That’s nowhere I have gone before, believe me.

“You! What planet is this!” I’ve always wanted to say that, even wildly out of context. (Who said it? Which episode? Hint: it’s the one that won a Hugo.)

Anyway. If you grok with me on this one, sign the petition. This is a dream that could become reality, and spread throughout the stars. (Which episode? Who said it?)

Now, beam up your views on my poll!

“>

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Rahim isn’t running again; his name won’t be on a ballot for a long, long time – if ever. So, if you’re an Opposition MP, why spend so much time trying to tar and feather him?

To wit:

“Mr. Speaker, we know now that Rahim Jaffer didn’t disclose his lobbying activity, as the rules require. So why didn’t any of the many, many Conservative Ministers, staff and MPs he met with regularly report him to the relevant authorities, to ensure that the rules were being followed?”

That’s the question.

From the relevant web site:

“…all public office holders, including designated public office holders, [should] verify the registration status of an individual if they believe that he or she may be carrying out registrable activities. If there is no registration, they could choose to ask the individual if registration is required.”

Did any of them do that? Nope.

Why not?

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…it’s occupying the centre, which is where all the votes are.

Very, very good news.

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…except, in this version, the Ontario Conservative leader would prefer you receive this chat when you are in a university graduate class.

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“Sources indicate a bid that includes newspaper owner Torstar Corp. is now emerging as a favourite, since it is expected to involve more cash than other offers.

The publisher of the Toronto Star and 97 other Ontario papers is backed by the deep pockets of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., which owns 19 per cent of Torstar.

Torstar would come aboard as the operator of the CanWest papers, but would limit its exposure by contributing a relatively small amount of its own money, while relying on the financial muscle of Fairfax, the insurance company headed by Prem Watsa.

Among the CanWest assets, Torstar is believed to covet the Financial Post to bolster its flagship paper, the Star.”

What’s it mean, if true?

It means the Post is well and truly screwed.  The Star would gut the “National” Post for the only part of the paper that is still read, the FP, and likely discard the rest.

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…on Joe Planta’s show.  Topics include the iPad, Helena and Rahim, and my involvement with the Liberal Party of Canada!

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As my kids will tell you, I believe all BMW drivers are jerks and/or stupid (with the notable exception of Bob and Craig, but that’s it).

In this vid, documenting an incident in Toronto that has been seen globally, my theory is proven yet again:

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• “MP Garry Breitkreuz said giving gays human rights protection would “open the avenue” to them going into schools to promote their lifestyle.” – Toronto Star, Oct. 14, 1994
• “Saskatchewan MP Garry Breitkreuz says by funding the NFB, the government is allowing homosexuality to be promoted in elementary and secondary schools. “Where is the government’s common sense – in the sewer with these videos?” Breitkreuz said in a statement yesterday.” – Star, Nov. 10, 1994
• “Millions of pellet guns and air-powered rifles — often used for target practice or hunting squirrels — will soon be declared firearms and require gun licences, according to the Canadian Alliance. Garry Breitkreuz, a Saskatchewan Alliance MP, charges the Liberals plan to keep the change secret until after the Nov. 27 vote.” – National Post, Nov. 18, 2000
• “In the Fifties, buggery was a criminal offence. Now it’s a requirement to receive benefits from the federal government.” Garry Breitkreuz, National Post, Nov. 21, 2000
• “Breitkreuz says the fundamental question of fetal rights must be determined before Parliament can address what he calls “the atrocities now occurring” in the field of reproductive technologies.” – Star, Feb. 12, 2001
• “A Saskatchewan Conservative MP is coming under fire for his starring role at a gun lobby dinner in the Greater Toronto area next month where the raffle prize is a Beretta semi-automatic handgun. Garry Breitkreuz is the guest speaker at the Canadian Shooting Sports Association’s (CSSA) annual general meeting and dinner on April 18 in Mississauga, where he’s to be lauded for his private member’s bill to abolish Canada’s controversial long-gun registry and relax rules on prohibited and restricted weapons.” – Star, March 19, 2009

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I did CTV’s Power Play last night – the network provided no link, sorry, so you will have to imagine it – and faced off against the NDP’s affable Brad Lavigne.  Like me, acting host Jane Taber was puzzled – bewildered, even – by the NDP’s decision to withdraw support for a Parliamentary probe into the Rahim Jaffer unregistered lobbying stuff.  Among other things, Brad said he and NDP MP Pat Martin were concerned about the whole thing descending into a “circus,” quote unquote.  Let the RCMP do its work, said he.  Stories here and here and here and here.

How very odd. For a party that fires off letters to the RCMP, the ethics commissioner and other oversight bodies with the sort of regularity the rest of us reserve for brushing our teeth, I find this quite bizarre.  So did Jane, and she said so.  When I suggested that a dirty deal may be in the works – that the NDP flip-flopped on a Commons inquiry, in exchange for goodness-knows-what  – Brad sputtered with indignation.  Such effrontery!

Maybe. But the question remains: why has the NDP suddenly and inexplicably decided, for the first time ever, to “let the RCMP do its job”?  I don’t recall them being similarly blasé during the sponsorship or income trust stuff.  They were positively motivated, back then.

Anyway, that was then, this is now, I guess.  We won’t know the truth until Senator Martin stands up to make his maiden speech in the Red Chamber.

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I intend to take a pretty different approach to the web site for the next while, as an experiment.  I want to have more reporting, and a little less commentary.  I hope it’ll be interesting. Stay tuned.

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