If a political party can prevent this from happening again, they would win a massive Parliamentary majority.

Comments (4)

It’s a campaign budget.  Something in there for everyone, etc.  That’s what I just told CITY-TV, anyway.

But that’s not the best part.  The best part came at the start, when Flaherty intoned that his was a government based on “principle,” quote unquote.

And the camera swung to reveal Bev Oda peering over his shoulder.

Comments (52)

From my colleague Jason, who (like everyone at Daisy) is familiar with my intricate plans to survive the inevitable Zombie takeover.

Comments (23)

I predict the NDP will cave.

Frankly, they have a bona fide reason for doing so – their leader is very ill.

Comments?  Contrary views?

Comments (54)

Comments (0)

“Imagine, for a minute or two, that you are Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi. What are you going to do?

You are hunkered in your family’s compound, in Tripoli’s Bab al-Azizia barracks, with nowhere to flee. You are trapped. For weeks, your mercenaries had been beating back disorganized pro-democracy insurgents, mercilessly wiping them out with superior military might.

And then, early Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama and his western allies — including Canada, whose former prime minister, Paul Martin, had just a few years ago come to Libya to sing your praises — did what you never thought they’d do. They attacked Libya.

They declared war on Libya, in effect, and declared they would not stop until you were dead, or deposed, or both.”

Comments (8)

As expected, the Opposition found the Harper regime in contempt of Parliament.

Now what?

It’s a big decision.  If the historic (and unprecedented) contempt finding is to mean anything, and if they are to avoid looking like rank hypocrites, the Opposition now must move non-confidence in the government.  They have no choice.  And, if everyone shows up to vote, the minority government will fall.

But is it a good idea, politically?  From my secure position in an armchair, pretty much everyone has a good reason to avoid an election right now:

• The Conservatives aren’t likely to get a majority – they’d likely only get what they have now.  And, with the sleaze and scandal now emanating regularly from their cabinet and backrooms, they might even lose some seats. They’ve got a leader many trust to be PM, but few like as a person.
• The NDP have recently taken a pounding in public opinion, and Jack Layton is still courageously fighting some serious health issues.  They’ve got a leader many like as a person, but who they don’t trust to be PM.
• The Liberals are likely to lose seats, based on recent polls – and they lack a ballot question, and have a dearth of nominated candidates.  Meanwhile, they’ve got a leader who is neither liked nor trusted.
• The Bloc?  They can’t be seen to be holding up some big federal transfer payments heading to Quebec – and terminating this Parliament would do just that.  They’ve got a leader, and they don’t give a rat’s ass if you like him or trust him.

My guess? Someone will get a case of Parliamentary flu.  No election.

Unless a bunch of them have gone batshit crazy, that is, which – it being Ottawa and all – you can never really eliminate as a factor.

Comments (67)

As I said to the reporter: where the Hell is Mayor Nenshi?  Why hasn’t he resourced the Calgary Police Service to deal with what is clearly a growing problem?

“The largest factor in keeping the numbers down may not have been who was there, but who was wasn’t. Kyle McKee, who Calgary police call the “micro-fuhrer” and leads Blood and Honour here, is in jail, leaving white nationalists in Calgary without their chief organizer.

The reduced numbers shouldn’t be taken as a sign that such groups are waning, according Warren Kinsella, who wrote Web of Hate, a book about organized racism.

“They don’t need a whole bunch of people. They actually prefer to have smaller numbers because it makes detection and infiltration easier to avoid,” Mr. Kinsella said in an interview. “They operate on the basis that small numbers can do large harm.”

Calgary was alone among Canadian cities in hosting a neo-Nazi demonstration on Saturday. But Mr. Kinsella, a former Calgarian, argued this is no reason to believe white supremacists have abandoned those cities.

“There is a danger into being lulled into a false sense of security by minimal numbers,” he said.

While noting it is unfair to associate white supremacy with only Calgary, Mr. Kinsella slammed the way police have approached the matter. The Calgary police service employs a hate-crimes co-ordinator, rather than a dedicated unit.

Paul Stacey, a duty inspector with Calgary Police Service, said that the hate-crimes co-ordinator works with CPS’ diversity resources unit. “This is not something we’ve ignored,” he said, arguing that the city has a low rate of hate-crimes. The city’s hate-crimes co-ordinator was at the rallies Saturday, “taking names and… figuring out who’s who,” Mr. Stacey said.

White supremacy “is not a real strong movement,” in the city, he added.“

 

Comments (24)

He’s off the mark on a few things – the true state of the numbers, the competence of senior staff – but it’s a fun read because David Olive always is.

“Thing is, I don’t recall voters ever itching to get to the polls. Yet the day of an election call, this great spectator sport of politics eclipses talk even of sports (!) in the nation’s farm-supply depots, yoga classes, university lecture halls, Canadian Tire check-out lines and donut emporia.

And why not? Our opinion is about to be solicited – our verdict – and leaders of five national parties will show us the stuff they’re made of. Few things are more testing of a pol than an inevitably gruelling coast-to-coast campaign, studded with gaffes, transparent pandering, horserace-like daily poll monitoring (did that speech make a difference; did that crazy song she sang yesterday at a country fair go viral?) and, yes, occasional moments of eloquence and passion, even anger. (“You had an option, sir!”, Brian Mulroney told a hapless John Turner in the 1984 leadership debates. And a Tory landslide of record size for any party was secured that moment.

Oh, we do like elections, so enough of that nonsense.”

UPDATE: And more fun reading bits from Senator Olive, here.

Comments (18)

That’s the only way you can describe this – going after an opponent’s family.

Maybe, you know, they will mock someone’s disability next. A facial paralysis or something.

Oh, wait.

Comments (40)