Monday, November 09, 2009
Tomorrow's Headline?......Iggy Loses Big!
ExpectationsMatter
Puffed-UpPunditryVille
But.....
Will any of the pundits bring this, from the Canadian Press, up?
Hmmmmmm......A closely constested riding..... Won by a Con with just a whiff of the RovianRoboCall about it....Now, let me think with my hindbrain for a second....Where have we smelled that before?
Ha!
.
Puffed-UpPunditryVille
But.....
Will any of the pundits bring this, from the Canadian Press, up?
OTTAWA — The Bloc Quebecois filed a police complaint over what it described as sabotage in one of four federal byelections Monday.
The Bloc says it contacted police after someone impersonated one of its members in a phone call Monday to voters in eastern Quebec. It says someone pretending to be Bloc MP Christiane Gagnon left bizarre, recorded messages urging people to vote for her colleague Nancy Gagnon.
Nancy Gagnon is hoping to hold the Riviere-du-Loup-area riding for the party, in a hotly contested race against the Conservatives.
The riding is considered a potential bellwether and victory would be considered a huge coup for the Tories.
The Bloc says someone pretending to be their Quebec City MP left halting, unprofessional-sounding phone messages urging people to vote for the Bloc - and it says the calls were designed to leave a negative impression of the party.
The MP filed a police complaint, party president Hugues Belzile signed an affidavit, and the party is also complaining to Elections Canada.
"What we want is an investigation to know who's behind this operation," Christiane Gagnon said in an interview.
Hmmmmmm......A closely constested riding..... Won by a Con with just a whiff of the RovianRoboCall about it....Now, let me think with my hindbrain for a second....Where have we smelled that before?
Ha!
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You Say Bye....And They'll Say Hello...Who's Going To Ottawa?
ItsTheExpecations
StupidVille
Elections Canada Results here....
7:15pm Monday Night:
The Nova Scotia seat that used to belong to Bill Casey was expected to go Con, and it did.
The two Quebec seats are not so clear from an expectations point of view.... Hochelaga in Montreal's East End is solid Bloc while in rural Rivière du-Loup nobody seems to know - and this could be the real bell-weather if the Cons show strong.
NewWest-Coquitlam likely hinges on how well the Dippers get out the vote and whether or not folks repudiate the strate(r)gy of the Stealth-Con.
And the real news?....In Lotusland there is no news......It's all pablum all the time on the airwaves...
7:40pm Monday Night
In Quebec, Hochelaga East End Mtl is going strong Bloc but rural Riviere du-Loop is a toss-up Bloc v. Con....Could this embolden The Steve?....Starting to count ballots in NWestCoq....
8:00pm Monday Night
185/257 polls reporting in rural Riviere du-Loop the Con is up by 3.5% over Blockhead.....Entering Mulroney-type territory?.... Lib is way, way gone....
8:05pm Monday Night
NewWestCoq: Early returns have Dipper with solid lead on StealthCon, but this is a weird riding where things could swing wildly poll-by-poll between the hearts of Salmonbellies vs CoqTown....
Riviere du-Loop: Con lead is holding with 209/257
Lively Dipper vs Lib Chat going on over at Cameron Holstrom's place....
8:25pm Monday Night
Riveire du-Loop: Looks like the Con will win....But....Get this....Bloc Candidate is complaining of.....RoboCalls!
NewWestCoq: I'm almost ready to exhale...10% of polls now in with a big Dipper lead (52/35)...
8:33pm Monday Night
RoboCalls in a closely contested race won by a Con?....hmmmmm....where has that happened recently?
8:40pm Monday Night
Half polls are in and Dipper Donnelly is crushing Stealth-Con Dilber.....errrr....Dilworth in NewWest-Coq...C.Press has called it Dipper (thanks PowellRiverPersuader!)...Best news of the night for sure...
Hate to say it, but.....The puffed-up punditry will very likely be piling on Iggy tomorrow....Then again, maybe I don't (hate to say it I mean)....
9:00pm Monday Night
All over 'xcept the crying....Scott Tribe did his best to defend the Iggster over at Cam Holmstrom's but, well, this is a Bye-Bye.....Thus, expectations matter a lot.... At least for the punditry who are going to be the ones (unfortunately) who tell the 97.43% of Canadians who WEREN'T paying attention what happened tomorrow...
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StupidVille
_____
Update: All done....Cons win, as expected, in NScotia....Bloc wins big in Montreal's East End as expected....Dipper crushes StealthCon In NewWestCoquitlam.....But.....Con wins with an alleged whiff of the RoboCall in rural Quebec...
_____
Update: All done....Cons win, as expected, in NScotia....Bloc wins big in Montreal's East End as expected....Dipper crushes StealthCon In NewWestCoquitlam.....But.....Con wins with an alleged whiff of the RoboCall in rural Quebec...
_____
Elections Canada Results here....
7:15pm Monday Night:
The Nova Scotia seat that used to belong to Bill Casey was expected to go Con, and it did.
The two Quebec seats are not so clear from an expectations point of view.... Hochelaga in Montreal's East End is solid Bloc while in rural Rivière du-Loup nobody seems to know - and this could be the real bell-weather if the Cons show strong.
NewWest-Coquitlam likely hinges on how well the Dippers get out the vote and whether or not folks repudiate the strate(r)gy of the Stealth-Con.
And the real news?....In Lotusland there is no news......It's all pablum all the time on the airwaves...
7:40pm Monday Night
In Quebec, Hochelaga East End Mtl is going strong Bloc but rural Riviere du-Loop is a toss-up Bloc v. Con....Could this embolden The Steve?....Starting to count ballots in NWestCoq....
8:00pm Monday Night
185/257 polls reporting in rural Riviere du-Loop the Con is up by 3.5% over Blockhead.....Entering Mulroney-type territory?.... Lib is way, way gone....
8:05pm Monday Night
NewWestCoq: Early returns have Dipper with solid lead on StealthCon, but this is a weird riding where things could swing wildly poll-by-poll between the hearts of Salmonbellies vs CoqTown....
Riviere du-Loop: Con lead is holding with 209/257
Lively Dipper vs Lib Chat going on over at Cameron Holstrom's place....
8:25pm Monday Night
Riveire du-Loop: Looks like the Con will win....But....Get this....Bloc Candidate is complaining of.....RoboCalls!
NewWestCoq: I'm almost ready to exhale...10% of polls now in with a big Dipper lead (52/35)...
8:33pm Monday Night
RoboCalls in a closely contested race won by a Con?....hmmmmm....where has that happened recently?
8:40pm Monday Night
Half polls are in and Dipper Donnelly is crushing Stealth-Con Dilber.....errrr....Dilworth in NewWest-Coq...C.Press has called it Dipper (thanks PowellRiverPersuader!)...Best news of the night for sure...
Hate to say it, but.....The puffed-up punditry will very likely be piling on Iggy tomorrow....Then again, maybe I don't (hate to say it I mean)....
9:00pm Monday Night
All over 'xcept the crying....Scott Tribe did his best to defend the Iggster over at Cam Holmstrom's but, well, this is a Bye-Bye.....Thus, expectations matter a lot.... At least for the punditry who are going to be the ones (unfortunately) who tell the 97.43% of Canadians who WEREN'T paying attention what happened tomorrow...
.
Do Not Take Your Eyes Off The Man With All The Hats
KeepOnTruckin'
RightThroughTheLobbyVille
It seems that British Columbia's comptroller general noticed more that was slightly amiss at BC Ferries than just CEO David Hahn's hugely bloated million dollar salary last week.....
Sean Holman of Public Eye, following up on a matter originally brought to our attention by the fine work of Justine Hunter in The Globe, has the (ever burgeoning) story:
Earlier, in an interview with The Globe and Mail's Justine Hunter, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.'s president and chief executive officer said the former Crown corporation's new drop trailer service isn't being bankrolled by the approximately $125 million in funding it receives from the provincial government. Instead, that funding is only used to keep the company's minor routes afloat. But, in a recent report, comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland acknowledged those taxpayer dollars could lead to the perception the ferry service has an "undue advantage" over private sector competitors, such as Seaspan Coastal Intermodal Co.....
So.
Why is the man of many hats referred to in the header to this post?
Well.....
That's because of an earlier report, not from Ms. Hunter, but instead from Mr. Holman, that noted Seaspan's newest (we can only assume), most highly consultative and content-intensive lobbyist:
Surpise!
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RightThroughTheLobbyVille
It seems that British Columbia's comptroller general noticed more that was slightly amiss at BC Ferries than just CEO David Hahn's hugely bloated million dollar salary last week.....
Sean Holman of Public Eye, following up on a matter originally brought to our attention by the fine work of Justine Hunter in The Globe, has the (ever burgeoning) story:
Earlier, in an interview with The Globe and Mail's Justine Hunter, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.'s president and chief executive officer said the former Crown corporation's new drop trailer service isn't being bankrolled by the approximately $125 million in funding it receives from the provincial government. Instead, that funding is only used to keep the company's minor routes afloat. But, in a recent report, comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland acknowledged those taxpayer dollars could lead to the perception the ferry service has an "undue advantage" over private sector competitors, such as Seaspan Coastal Intermodal Co.....
So.
Why is the man of many hats referred to in the header to this post?
Well.....
That's because of an earlier report, not from Ms. Hunter, but instead from Mr. Holman, that noted Seaspan's newest (we can only assume), most highly consultative and content-intensive lobbyist:
....Now, four months later (in October 2009), Mr. (Kenneth) Dobell has signed-up as Seaspan Coastal Intermodal's lobbyist.
According to his filing with lobbyists registrar, the subject matter of his activities will be "government relationships.".....
Surpise!
.
Dead Radio Station Walking...Bye-Bye Talk 1410
OberfeldANDMair?
ShutItALLDownVille
So.
Is this how it ends, not with a bang but the whimpering of a million old schmoes from SportsPage?
Mr. T, the Billman, has the story:
Word just out that Talk 1410 AM radio has shut down its operations and converted to an all sports format, to be known as TEAM 1410.
Also know as CFUN, Talk 1410 has been doing talk radio in various forms since 1996, most recently hiring former CITY TV broadcaster Simi Sara as their morning show host.
Condolences to Simi, producer Renee Lukacs and other news and talk radio staff there.
The shrinking world of Vancouver media unfortunately leaves less and less room for diverse opinions.
Me, I blame it on Philip Till's destruction of the not-so Giant'98's morning market dominance, which allowed Mr. Team's [see Carson, Paul] Boyz from CTVGlobeBellChumTSNRDSEverythingElseYouCanImagine Media) to gain a foothold in the Lotuslandian drive-time market.
Well......
That and the fact that the geniuses from CORUS gave up the rights to the Canuckleheads awhile ago and also made the decision to dump Mike Smyth and go with tape delays of Puff Daddy Addler in the evening slot.
______
One commenter over at Mr. T's asked why nobody (with a half-a-brain) listens to CBC Radio One.....Have they never been subjected to the swill served-up serially every single day by the CluffMaster Flash and Friends?
.
ShutItALLDownVille
So.
Is this how it ends, not with a bang but the whimpering of a million old schmoes from SportsPage?
Mr. T, the Billman, has the story:
Word just out that Talk 1410 AM radio has shut down its operations and converted to an all sports format, to be known as TEAM 1410.
Also know as CFUN, Talk 1410 has been doing talk radio in various forms since 1996, most recently hiring former CITY TV broadcaster Simi Sara as their morning show host.
Condolences to Simi, producer Renee Lukacs and other news and talk radio staff there.
The shrinking world of Vancouver media unfortunately leaves less and less room for diverse opinions.
Me, I blame it on Philip Till's destruction of the not-so Giant'98's morning market dominance, which allowed Mr. Team's [see Carson, Paul] Boyz from CTVGlobeBellChumTSNRDSEverythingElseYouCanImagine Media) to gain a foothold in the Lotuslandian drive-time market.
Well......
That and the fact that the geniuses from CORUS gave up the rights to the Canuckleheads awhile ago and also made the decision to dump Mike Smyth and go with tape delays of Puff Daddy Addler in the evening slot.
______
One commenter over at Mr. T's asked why nobody (with a half-a-brain) listens to CBC Radio One.....Have they never been subjected to the swill served-up serially every single day by the CluffMaster Flash and Friends?
.
Ya But.....Does Anybody Actually Believe That Mr. Hahn Can Run A Hamburger Stand?
ComparatorsAreForChumps
FriesInYourEyesVille
So.
It all over the Interwebz that British Columbia's Comptroller General thinks that BC Ferries Co. CEO David Hahn is way overpaid at a cool million, plus, per year.
Apparently, the real problem is that the board and the attendant executive lackeys pretty much get to set their own compensation and ridiculously slack-eyed bonus benchmarks with relative opacity.
But the thing that I find most bizarre is the comparators that were used by these geniuses.
Specifically, they were not other public, or even private, transporation companies.
Instead, they decided they should be compared to the Captains of BranchPlant Industry that run highly complex sugar and water operations (eg. Coca Cola) and hamburger stands (eg. Macdonalds).
Which begs the question.....
Does this mean that Mr. Hahn already knows how to say:
Or will he have to learn it, from scratch, when we finally send him packing with the strings from his most crispy and golden parachute dangling between his legs?
_____
Meanwhile, again, the price for a family of four and a regular-size car to and from the big island, return, is now $220, round-trip on a weekend (fries - fat Toigo, not skinny Kroc version- not included)....As our good friend GAB likes to say, "Fares up, ridership down.....Give Davey-Boy another hundred tho'!"...Or some such thing.
.
FriesInYourEyesVille
So.
It all over the Interwebz that British Columbia's Comptroller General thinks that BC Ferries Co. CEO David Hahn is way overpaid at a cool million, plus, per year.
Apparently, the real problem is that the board and the attendant executive lackeys pretty much get to set their own compensation and ridiculously slack-eyed bonus benchmarks with relative opacity.
But the thing that I find most bizarre is the comparators that were used by these geniuses.
Specifically, they were not other public, or even private, transporation companies.
Instead, they decided they should be compared to the Captains of BranchPlant Industry that run highly complex sugar and water operations (eg. Coca Cola) and hamburger stands (eg. Macdonalds).
Which begs the question.....
Does this mean that Mr. Hahn already knows how to say:
"Do you want fries with that?"
Or will he have to learn it, from scratch, when we finally send him packing with the strings from his most crispy and golden parachute dangling between his legs?
_____
Meanwhile, again, the price for a family of four and a regular-size car to and from the big island, return, is now $220, round-trip on a weekend (fries - fat Toigo, not skinny Kroc version- not included)....As our good friend GAB likes to say, "Fares up, ridership down.....Give Davey-Boy another hundred tho'!"...Or some such thing.
.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
If You Don't Read Digby, You Don't Know Squat...
.
SmartnessMatters
RealBloggerVille
First - the background.....
Yesterday, during the horse trading that led up to the historic vote on Healthcare Reform in the US Congress, which includes a provision for a real, honest-to-goodness kinda/sorta/almost 'public option', there was a vote on an amendment that was fronted by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak to bar any government and/or private insurance funding of any procedure that could be even remotely construed as contributing to an abortion.
In the original voice-vote it looked like Stupak was going down....But then they went to a roll call vote....The Blue Dogs caved and....Surprise!.....The Neanderthals won.
Now, the fallback postion in all of this, as near as I can figure it, is that this would give the Conserve-A-Dems cover so that they could then vote (or at least allow) the Healthcare Reform bill to pass.
And it did.
But barely.
So, what does Digby have to say about what really went down and why?
Well, here is her (yes, her) take:
....There are only 76 women in the House out of 435 --- 17%. 59 of them are Democrats and 17 are Republicans. Three of the Democrats are non-voting members (DC, Virgin Islands and Guam.)
Out of the 56 women in the Democratic caucus, only two voted for Stupak. All 17 Republican women voted for it.
What this adds up to is that 97% of the Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment were male. 90% of the Republicans were male.
I would have to guess that if more than 17% of the congress were women, there would be a little bit less likelihood that women's rights would be so often used as a handy tool to placate neanderthals.
That's just a guess.
Habits are hard to break....."
You bet.
And hard numbers are hard to ignore.
What does this mean (as the puffed-up punditry are so fond of saying) 'going forward?
Well, if US Americans want to protect themselves from the Neanderthals they have to vote for more women.
Thing is, if you look really hard at Digby's numbers you can see that they have to be Democratic women because the Republicans of the female persuasion are, based on the evidence, apparently asexual Neanderbots from Uranus.
Or some such thing.
Lest we up here get too smug about all of this....
It is probably worth mentioning that we could soon find ourselves in a very similar situation in this, the country formerly known as Canuckistan?
.
...About The Real Numbers.....
SmartnessMatters
RealBloggerVille
First - the background.....
Yesterday, during the horse trading that led up to the historic vote on Healthcare Reform in the US Congress, which includes a provision for a real, honest-to-goodness kinda/sorta/almost 'public option', there was a vote on an amendment that was fronted by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak to bar any government and/or private insurance funding of any procedure that could be even remotely construed as contributing to an abortion.
In the original voice-vote it looked like Stupak was going down....But then they went to a roll call vote....The Blue Dogs caved and....Surprise!.....The Neanderthals won.
Now, the fallback postion in all of this, as near as I can figure it, is that this would give the Conserve-A-Dems cover so that they could then vote (or at least allow) the Healthcare Reform bill to pass.
And it did.
But barely.
So, what does Digby have to say about what really went down and why?
Well, here is her (yes, her) take:
....There are only 76 women in the House out of 435 --- 17%. 59 of them are Democrats and 17 are Republicans. Three of the Democrats are non-voting members (DC, Virgin Islands and Guam.)
Out of the 56 women in the Democratic caucus, only two voted for Stupak. All 17 Republican women voted for it.
What this adds up to is that 97% of the Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment were male. 90% of the Republicans were male.
I would have to guess that if more than 17% of the congress were women, there would be a little bit less likelihood that women's rights would be so often used as a handy tool to placate neanderthals.
That's just a guess.
Habits are hard to break....."
You bet.
And hard numbers are hard to ignore.
****
What does this mean (as the puffed-up punditry are so fond of saying) 'going forward?
Well, if US Americans want to protect themselves from the Neanderthals they have to vote for more women.
Thing is, if you look really hard at Digby's numbers you can see that they have to be Democratic women because the Republicans of the female persuasion are, based on the evidence, apparently asexual Neanderbots from Uranus.
Or some such thing.
****
Now.Lest we up here get too smug about all of this....
It is probably worth mentioning that we could soon find ourselves in a very similar situation in this, the country formerly known as Canuckistan?
.
Romancing The Neuron...
SteamPunkIsSo
PastTenseVille
Following up on Brenton's most excellent description of where, and how, to buy used books on Lotusland's main Main St, I figured now would be a good time to mention that William Gibson is......
Twitter.
OK?
_____
And in parallel universe news, yesterday Mr. Walters picked up Pattern Recognition for a few bucks at Pulp Fiction on Main just below Broadway....Me, I got it for free at the VPL at Knight and The Stinkin' when littler e. couldn't find 'The Chamber of Secrets'.....(although she did order it from the very nice lady with beautiful eyes that I am absolutely convinced were not born in a vat in Chiba [maybe] who said it would only be a few days because there are a whole bunch of copies 'in the system')....
.
PastTenseVille
Following up on Brenton's most excellent description of where, and how, to buy used books on Lotusland's main Main St, I figured now would be a good time to mention that William Gibson is......
Twitter.
OK?
_____
And in parallel universe news, yesterday Mr. Walters picked up Pattern Recognition for a few bucks at Pulp Fiction on Main just below Broadway....Me, I got it for free at the VPL at Knight and The Stinkin' when littler e. couldn't find 'The Chamber of Secrets'.....(although she did order it from the very nice lady with beautiful eyes that I am absolutely convinced were not born in a vat in Chiba [maybe] who said it would only be a few days because there are a whole bunch of copies 'in the system')....
.
StealthCon LVIX: Diana Dilworth Hides From Her Constituents
WhyDoesLittleStephen
HateRealCanadiansSoMuchVille
Look.
A political candidate managing their message and hiding from the evil media is one thing.
But refusing to show up at all-candidates meetings to discuss and debate the issues, in their own words, in front of real, live constituents is quite another.
Based on our analysis of the StealthCons over the last two election cycles, it has become increasingly clear that the practice of ducking all-candidates' meetings is now an endemic practice amongst many of the good and fine folks that make their deal at the cross-roads when they sign on the dotted-line and agree to be stage-managed by the party of Stephen Harper.
Most recent case in point, the (not-so-progressive) Conservative candidate who is running in next week's New Westminister-Coquitlam by-election.
Now.
Why does this stuff matter?
Because if there is even one real voter amongst the audience* who turned off the TV, put on his or her coat, and headed out the door into the rain to hear what a candidate has to say, unscripted, who got shafted by Ms. Dilworth's non-appearance.....
Well.
That would be fundamentally antithetical to all that participatory democracy in a full and open marketplace of ideas is supposed to be about.
In other words, that would be truly anti-Canadian.
So, given all that.......
Why does Stephen Harper, and the Luntzians that walk amongst him and his, hate Canada so much?
_____
*As opposed to the rent-a-voter crowd and the true believers of all stripes that also show up at these things.
.
HateRealCanadiansSoMuchVille
Look.
A political candidate managing their message and hiding from the evil media is one thing.
But refusing to show up at all-candidates meetings to discuss and debate the issues, in their own words, in front of real, live constituents is quite another.
****
Based on our analysis of the StealthCons over the last two election cycles, it has become increasingly clear that the practice of ducking all-candidates' meetings is now an endemic practice amongst many of the good and fine folks that make their deal at the cross-roads when they sign on the dotted-line and agree to be stage-managed by the party of Stephen Harper.
Most recent case in point, the (not-so-progressive) Conservative candidate who is running in next week's New Westminister-Coquitlam by-election.
****
Now.
Why does this stuff matter?
Because if there is even one real voter amongst the audience* who turned off the TV, put on his or her coat, and headed out the door into the rain to hear what a candidate has to say, unscripted, who got shafted by Ms. Dilworth's non-appearance.....
Well.
That would be fundamentally antithetical to all that participatory democracy in a full and open marketplace of ideas is supposed to be about.
In other words, that would be truly anti-Canadian.
So, given all that.......
Why does Stephen Harper, and the Luntzians that walk amongst him and his, hate Canada so much?
_____
*As opposed to the rent-a-voter crowd and the true believers of all stripes that also show up at these things.
.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Two....Two...Ohhhhh.....Is A Magic Number
US Americans Win The Pennant!
The Healthcare reform pennant that is...but just barely....I've got it 218 to 214 with three to go....
Finally comes in at 220 to 215....Now the reason for the horse-trading earlier that threw a whole lotta uteruses under the bus becomes crystal clear (but, discussion at a number of sites indicates that the codswallop could be stripped out later in 'conference)....
____
And the bizarrity of it all....39 ConservaDems went Rethug DESPITE the Stupakkian Codswallop that was the fetus fetishist ammendment....Wow!....One Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana went the right (ie. left) way....Here's Josh Marshall's backgrounder on why Mr. Cao went as he did....looks like his constitutents might have something to do with it....ha!
PostTitle refers, of course, to this.....
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US Americans Healthcare Reform Deal Going Down...
WillTheDems
DoTheRightThingVille
8:09pmUpdate: 218.....They've Got It!
8:08pm Update: They need 4 votes with 7 possible left....holy crap!
8:06pm Update: Watching the numbers on CSPAN....It's really close!
.
There is some weird ConservaDem wrangling over 'abortion' happening but the smart money says that was done by Speaker Pelosi to lock-up the votes.
The Waterheads say that the real problem here is malpractice lawyers.
Or some such codswallop....
The final vote is going down, right now (8:00pm Saturday)....
Details to follow.
_____
Best Proggodome site - FDL
Best Round-Up site - Politico
Best What's Really Goin' Down site - TPM
Best RawFeed - CSPAN
DoTheRightThingVille
8:09pmUpdate: 218.....They've Got It!
8:08pm Update: They need 4 votes with 7 possible left....holy crap!
8:06pm Update: Watching the numbers on CSPAN....It's really close!
.
There is some weird ConservaDem wrangling over 'abortion' happening but the smart money says that was done by Speaker Pelosi to lock-up the votes.
The Waterheads say that the real problem here is malpractice lawyers.
Or some such codswallop....
The final vote is going down, right now (8:00pm Saturday)....
Details to follow.
_____
Best Proggodome site - FDL
Best Round-Up site - Politico
Best What's Really Goin' Down site - TPM
Best RawFeed - CSPAN
Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn Is A Shill And A Liar
AmericaHasAChanceTonight
ToDoTheRightThingVille
I've been hanging around the Proggodome down South, on-and-off, pretty much all day long.
Why?
Because the U.S. Americans' Congress is debating a bill which, while far from perfect, could maybe/kinda/sorta actually start the ball rolling on real health care reform below the 49th parallel.
And as per usual, the good folks at Firedoglake are all over this one.
As a result, I was following a Live Blog from uber-pup Rayne when I came across the following regarding an argument 'against' reform that was 'raised' by Marsha Blackburn (R:InsuranceIndustryOfAmerica):
2:29 p.m. — Rep. Marsha Blackburn — finds this a very sad day to vote for this bill; cites examples of Canadian medicine where care wasn’t provided as horror stories…..Cites H1N1 (vaccine) shortage as example of failure of government healthcare....
Well.
Imagine my considerable consternation at such codswallop.
What to do....what to do?
I know.
I'll write them a comment AND a post (not that they need either from the likes of me)!
Here it is:
ToDoTheRightThingVille
____________
All In The Family/Archie Bunker Update, 7:20pm Saturday.....The Fetishizing is getting downright scary...but the smart money still says that this was the result of a horse-trading 'deal' cut by Pelosi to keep the votes for to preserve the main prize....Meanwhile the laugable Republican alternative bill (eg. no protection against health coverage cancellation due to pre-existing teen-age acne) is up....
Double-Secret Probation Update, 6:50pm Saturday....Watching Dingall close out the Dems side of the debate...It's an anti-waterheaded bit of wordsmithing in which he invokes his father who tried to do for the American public what is happening tonight back in....1943.
(Update, 6:15 PST Saturday....Despite a passel of last ditch fetus-fetishizing....Politico is reporting that Nancy Pelosi has the votes locked up...here's hopin'!)
____________
All In The Family/Archie Bunker Update, 7:20pm Saturday.....The Fetishizing is getting downright scary...but the smart money still says that this was the result of a horse-trading 'deal' cut by Pelosi to keep the votes for to preserve the main prize....Meanwhile the laugable Republican alternative bill (eg. no protection against health coverage cancellation due to pre-existing teen-age acne) is up....
Double-Secret Probation Update, 6:50pm Saturday....Watching Dingall close out the Dems side of the debate...It's an anti-waterheaded bit of wordsmithing in which he invokes his father who tried to do for the American public what is happening tonight back in....1943.
(Update, 6:15 PST Saturday....Despite a passel of last ditch fetus-fetishizing....Politico is reporting that Nancy Pelosi has the votes locked up...here's hopin'!)
____________
I've been hanging around the Proggodome down South, on-and-off, pretty much all day long.
Why?
Because the U.S. Americans' Congress is debating a bill which, while far from perfect, could maybe/kinda/sorta actually start the ball rolling on real health care reform below the 49th parallel.
And as per usual, the good folks at Firedoglake are all over this one.
As a result, I was following a Live Blog from uber-pup Rayne when I came across the following regarding an argument 'against' reform that was 'raised' by Marsha Blackburn (R:InsuranceIndustryOfAmerica):
2:29 p.m. — Rep. Marsha Blackburn — finds this a very sad day to vote for this bill; cites examples of Canadian medicine where care wasn’t provided as horror stories…..Cites H1N1 (vaccine) shortage as example of failure of government healthcare....
Well.
Imagine my considerable consternation at such codswallop.
What to do....what to do?
I know.
I'll write them a comment AND a post (not that they need either from the likes of me)!
Here it is:
Sorry to go a little OT (but not really, because it speaks to the obfuscatory tactics of the 'Insurance Industry Protection Program' and their surrogates)
Marsha Blackburn can go to bloody hell.
Because up here in Canada, we are proud of how many folks with high risk of complication have been immunized against H1N1 already (ie. 20% of the total population in my province which represents 800,000 of mostly high risk folks in just two weeks since the publically-funded vaccine was rolled out).
What we do hate, however, are the selfish bastards of privilege who have been using the thin edge of the Anti-Universality wedge (ie. private clinics) to jump the queue and take vaccine from people that could actually die if they were to suffer complications due to this virus.
Bastards like this.
And this.
Marsha Blackburn is a shill and a liar.
It’s as simple as that.
(sorry for the interruption…and good luck with the vote folks…we’re pullin’ for you up here!)
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Welcome Back.....Rick!
Lotusland'sGettin'Richer
EverydayVille
First it was Alex G. Tsakumis making the move to our little corner of the Bloggodome.
And now it's Rickey Barnes, who is making a move back to the the Fever Swamps of Lotuslandia.
Here's what Rick had to say about the latest Stealth-Con candidate, Diana Dilworth, who is 'allegedly' running in next week's New Westminister-Coquitlam by-election:
Burquitlam Residents Association a group that has hosted all-candidates meetings for elections at all levels has been told to drop dead by Diana Dilworth, the Federal Conservative candidate for New Westminster—Coquitlam federal riding. It's the same game the Conservatives have been playing in the general elections. Avoid the scrutiny of the public where ever possible.
I just hope the folks that vote in the riding listen to what she is not saying. It's the same message that Stephen Harper is giving us today.
Oooooh!......Ooooooh!.......Oooooh!
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EverydayVille
First it was Alex G. Tsakumis making the move to our little corner of the Bloggodome.
And now it's Rickey Barnes, who is making a move back to the the Fever Swamps of Lotuslandia.
Here's what Rick had to say about the latest Stealth-Con candidate, Diana Dilworth, who is 'allegedly' running in next week's New Westminister-Coquitlam by-election:
Burquitlam Residents Association a group that has hosted all-candidates meetings for elections at all levels has been told to drop dead by Diana Dilworth, the Federal Conservative candidate for New Westminster—Coquitlam federal riding. It's the same game the Conservatives have been playing in the general elections. Avoid the scrutiny of the public where ever possible.
I just hope the folks that vote in the riding listen to what she is not saying. It's the same message that Stephen Harper is giving us today.
Oooooh!......Ooooooh!.......Oooooh!
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Smacking Paramedics With A Sledgehammer
BustEveryoneLINOVille
Can somebody please explain to me what, exactly, is even remotely 'collective' about this:
VANCOUVER - British Columbia has legislated its striking paramedics back to work.
After an all-night session at the provincial legislature, Bill 21 was passed, officially ending a strike that began in April.
Paramedics had still been working during the strike under an essential-services order from the provincial government.
The province moved to legislate the 3,500 paramedics back to work with less than a month to go in the current legislative session - the last regular sitting of the house before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
The settlement outlined in the Ambulance Service Collective Agreement Act reflected the offer made to the union in September.....
Now.
I have no idea where this idea came from (ie. it arrived in a brown paper envelope wrapped in a riddle tied-up with an enigma and stuffed in a Funk and Wagnall's tin padded with Eat More bars on Halloween night) but.....
What if if a few thousand Five-Ringed Circus Tent Volunteers were to secretly (or not-so secretly via that evil Book of the Faces) get together and decide to stage a symbolic (and fleeting) sitdown strike for the cameras during, say, the Ceremonies of the Opening?
_____
The image above, I believe, is from that rally for then dead MLA-guy walking, Stonewally Oppal, in Tsawwassen, during the last provincial election campaign where Premier Gordon Campbell's fully-twitterized bus pulled up WITHOUT him on it.....Why?.....Because the chicken-hearted anti-collectivist collaborator was sneaking in through the back door to avoid upset constituents and paramedics exercising their democratic right to peaceable assembly out front....Oh, wait.....maybe it was Courtenay.....
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Friday, November 06, 2009
Does Smilin' Sammy Even Know What Just Hit Him?
WhereAreTheWebClerksWhenHeNeedsThem
Spam-A-Lot
Earlier this week we mentioned that Vancouver's worst mayor ever is back to his old tricks again.
This time it's a bizarre mix of aynRandian-pseudoMarxist-Ann B. Toklas....errrrr....Davis-ness called, apparently, the "Global Civic Policy Society".
Rumour has it that some of the non-Caucusing Cityites round these here parts have already taken to calling it the 'GPS-With-A-C-In-It' given that it may actually be a way for the Smilin' One to locate himself in at all times as he careens back and forth across the Circle of 10 block radius that surrounds his Yaletown Condo while he constantly curses Lorne Mayencourt and Arthur Griffiths for not taking his calls.
So.....
Who better to take a run at this latest resurrection shuffle than Smiling Sammy's very own arch-nemesis and newly-minted member of the Lotuslandian Bloggodome, Mr. Alex G. Tsakumis:
(and try not to pee your pants laughing when you read AGT's stuff)
Now.
Given that I don't want AGT to sic his Copyright Dogs on me, I'll stop there.
But I must note that, in addition to the acid-laced bon mots that he piles on top of Sam The Sham and His Pharohs' sinking sacrcophagus, Mr. Tsakumis also throws an actual newsworthy tidbit on the pyre when he waxes alleged-orical regarding one possible potential cash-cow backing the "GPS-With-A-C-In-It" project.
Wowser!
______
Meanwhile, in Spam-A-Lot Central (GAB, avert thine eyes).....Crickets!.....Although the web-lackey (or is that the clerk?) does offer up an 'editorial' on the nuts-and-bolts of an issue he is clearly an expert on (ha!).
And here we thought the Spamalotteers real expertise was in snow removal....Which reminds us, when are they going to blame this fall's 'Leafaggedon' (which could be coming to a storm drain near you this weekend -run for your lives!!!!) on His Gregorousness.....
.
Spam-A-Lot
Earlier this week we mentioned that Vancouver's worst mayor ever is back to his old tricks again.
This time it's a bizarre mix of aynRandian-pseudoMarxist-Ann B. Toklas....errrrr....Davis-ness called, apparently, the "Global Civic Policy Society".
Rumour has it that some of the non-Caucusing Cityites round these here parts have already taken to calling it the 'GPS-With-A-C-In-It' given that it may actually be a way for the Smilin' One to locate himself in at all times as he careens back and forth across the Circle of 10 block radius that surrounds his Yaletown Condo while he constantly curses Lorne Mayencourt and Arthur Griffiths for not taking his calls.
So.....
Who better to take a run at this latest resurrection shuffle than Smiling Sammy's very own arch-nemesis and newly-minted member of the Lotuslandian Bloggodome, Mr. Alex G. Tsakumis:
(and try not to pee your pants laughing when you read AGT's stuff)
"....Sam Sullivan. The name alone simply conjures up thoughts and images of brazen stupidity, viral self-indulgence and incredible lying.
I have often been, inaccurately, credited with destroying Sam’s political career. Sam destroyed Sam’s political career. One dimbell once went so far as to suggest that I had paid City Hall staff to leak me information. Incredible.
So, today, my darlings, Sam the Sham is announcing something called the Global Civic Policy Society. After having read a cursory, but well-written review by The Sun’s Doug Ward yesterday, I am mystified as to how this charlatan of a man; a miserably failed former Mayor of Vancouver continues to pretend he’s on to something.
As far as I can tell, if you administered an enema to what he’s offering as salient public policy alternatives, you could walk away with any redeemable value in a thimble. These initiatives he’s trumpeting are re-treads of almost every single failed policy that Vancouverites were up in arms about....."Now.
Given that I don't want AGT to sic his Copyright Dogs on me, I'll stop there.
But I must note that, in addition to the acid-laced bon mots that he piles on top of Sam The Sham and His Pharohs' sinking sacrcophagus, Mr. Tsakumis also throws an actual newsworthy tidbit on the pyre when he waxes alleged-orical regarding one possible potential cash-cow backing the "GPS-With-A-C-In-It" project.
Wowser!
______
Meanwhile, in Spam-A-Lot Central (GAB, avert thine eyes).....Crickets!.....Although the web-lackey (or is that the clerk?) does offer up an 'editorial' on the nuts-and-bolts of an issue he is clearly an expert on (ha!).
And here we thought the Spamalotteers real expertise was in snow removal....Which reminds us, when are they going to blame this fall's 'Leafaggedon' (which could be coming to a storm drain near you this weekend -run for your lives!!!!) on His Gregorousness.....
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First There Was The $7 Billion Cost Of The Five-Ringed Circus Tents...
AllTheGougingThatFits
AreWeInAthensYetVille
And now?
Well, now, apparently there is also the cost of a report that just might (or might not) tell us why the predicted revenue from the Circus-Circus coming to town is actually going to be $6.7 Billion less than that which was first announced to the sounds of blaring trumpets and the bleatings of watercarriers or so many IOC-junkets ago.
So.
How much did the report actually cost itself?
Well....
How about $2 million?
Ya, you read that right.
Two million lousy dollars for a 'report'.
Andrew MacLeod had that story, buried deep within the big lede of his $6.7B shortfall blockbuster, earlier this week in the The Tyee:
"....The province has more recent reports on the impacts of the Games that they've so far refused to release, he (NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston) said, including a $2 million study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
All of which is chump change, right?
Unless, of course you are a paramedic and/or the parent of an autistic kid.
I mean, seriously, have these people no shame whatsoever?
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AreWeInAthensYetVille
...Then There Was The Cost Of The $1 Billion Security .
And now?
Well, now, apparently there is also the cost of a report that just might (or might not) tell us why the predicted revenue from the Circus-Circus coming to town is actually going to be $6.7 Billion less than that which was first announced to the sounds of blaring trumpets and the bleatings of watercarriers or so many IOC-junkets ago.
So.
How much did the report actually cost itself?
Well....
How about $2 million?
Ya, you read that right.
Two million lousy dollars for a 'report'.
Andrew MacLeod had that story, buried deep within the big lede of his $6.7B shortfall blockbuster, earlier this week in the The Tyee:
"....The province has more recent reports on the impacts of the Games that they've so far refused to release, he (NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston) said, including a $2 million study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
"Why wouldn't they just release those reports?" Ralston asked. "Maybe those reports don't support what they're saying publicly."
VANOC is also withholding a study by University of British Columbia professors Bob Sparks and Rob VanWynsberghe that was to look at the economic, environmental and social impacts of the Games and was to be released in June.
The minister of state responsible for the Olympic secretariat, Mary McNeil, was travelling with the torch relay and unavailable...."
All of which is chump change, right?
Unless, of course you are a paramedic and/or the parent of an autistic kid.
****
I mean, seriously, have these people no shame whatsoever?
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The Stoopid, It Burns: Doctor's That Give Healthy Hockey Players 'Interpretative' H1N1 Flu Shots
AllTheStupidThatFits
Givin'HippocratesABadNameVille
I mean, how else to explain the following as a detailed by Justine Hunter yesterday in The Globe:
Really, Dr. Windt?
OK, which part of the following, precisely, from the same Globe story by Ms. Hunter, is open to 'interpretation'?
...Under B.C.'s vaccination protocol, the only people who should be getting the H1N1 vaccine right now are people under 65 with chronic health conditions, those who live in remote and isolated communities, children six months to five years of age, pregnant women, the caregivers of infants to six months of age and people with compromised immune systems. Some front-line health workers are also being offered the vaccine....
And where, exactly, did you find the words, 'healthy, young-adult hockey players' in that passage?
Or is that just an imaginative interpretive dance we see there on your I-Pod?
Or some such codswallop.
.
Givin'HippocratesABadNameVille
I mean, how else to explain the following as a detailed by Justine Hunter yesterday in The Globe:
British Columbia's top health official says an Abbotsford doctor who vaccinated professional hockey players against the H1N1 virus this week broke the rules but will face no repercussions...
{snippety-doo-dah}
{snippety-doodle-dandy}
...Dr. Windt said doctors should be able to interpret the guidelines to decide who is eligible...
Really, Dr. Windt?
OK, which part of the following, precisely, from the same Globe story by Ms. Hunter, is open to 'interpretation'?
...Under B.C.'s vaccination protocol, the only people who should be getting the H1N1 vaccine right now are people under 65 with chronic health conditions, those who live in remote and isolated communities, children six months to five years of age, pregnant women, the caregivers of infants to six months of age and people with compromised immune systems. Some front-line health workers are also being offered the vaccine....
And where, exactly, did you find the words, 'healthy, young-adult hockey players' in that passage?
Or is that just an imaginative interpretive dance we see there on your I-Pod?
Or some such codswallop.
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Thursday, November 05, 2009
The Diabolical Disappearence of Diana Dilworth....Run For Your Lives!....The StealthCons Are BACK!
MyLongestHeader
EverVille
Monte Paulsen has the story in The Tyee. Here's his most excellent example of a classic inverted pyramid lede:
If the Conservative campaign now underway in New Westminster-Coquitlam says anything about how Prime Minister Stephen Harper hopes to win a majority in the next federal election, the message is this: Run for a strong economy, run against crime, and run away from public debate whenever possible......
All snark aside, the entire thing is a really fine piece of investigatory journalism.
_____
Here is my earlier take on the plague of the StealthCons - this subversion of the democratic process is actually no laughing matter.
.
EverVille
Monte Paulsen has the story in The Tyee. Here's his most excellent example of a classic inverted pyramid lede:
If the Conservative campaign now underway in New Westminster-Coquitlam says anything about how Prime Minister Stephen Harper hopes to win a majority in the next federal election, the message is this: Run for a strong economy, run against crime, and run away from public debate whenever possible......
All snark aside, the entire thing is a really fine piece of investigatory journalism.
_____
Here is my earlier take on the plague of the StealthCons - this subversion of the democratic process is actually no laughing matter.
.
The Last, Best Word On H1N1 Vaccine Queue Jumping...
TheKidsAre(Still)
AlrightVille
Here's what e. had to say on the way to school this morning:
Absolutely right, kiddo.
Look.
Here's the real thing.
The chances of Jerome Iginla, what with his stratospheric lung capacity and unlimited access to Tami-Flu, dying if he comes down with the flu caused by an H1N1 virus infection are infinitesimal (eg. really, really, really, really, really, really small to essentially non-existent).
As for any and all teenage kids with severe asthma that had trouble getting the vaccine in Calgary last week and who may have been infected with the virus while the clinics there were shutdown due to vaccine shortages?
Well - that's a different story (ie. those kids were not identified as truly high risk for nothing).
OK?
____
And with that, I'm done with this matter.....Unless, of course, we suddenly start reading about entire swaths of luge runners and their coaches and hangers-on who considered themselves at high risk because they have to touch a chairlift on an almost, but not quite, daily basis....
.
AlrightVille
....Come From Our 10 Year Old Daughter, littler e....
Here's what e. had to say on the way to school this morning:
"Oh, now I get it.
It's the difference between someone missing a few hockey games and someone maybe dying, right Dad?"
It's the difference between someone missing a few hockey games and someone maybe dying, right Dad?"
Absolutely right, kiddo.
****
Look.
Here's the real thing.
The chances of Jerome Iginla, what with his stratospheric lung capacity and unlimited access to Tami-Flu, dying if he comes down with the flu caused by an H1N1 virus infection are infinitesimal (eg. really, really, really, really, really, really small to essentially non-existent).
As for any and all teenage kids with severe asthma that had trouble getting the vaccine in Calgary last week and who may have been infected with the virus while the clinics there were shutdown due to vaccine shortages?
Well - that's a different story (ie. those kids were not identified as truly high risk for nothing).
OK?
____
And with that, I'm done with this matter.....Unless, of course, we suddenly start reading about entire swaths of luge runners and their coaches and hangers-on who considered themselves at high risk because they have to touch a chairlift on an almost, but not quite, daily basis....
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The Latest From Spam-A-Lot...Surprise!....More Shadowy Men From A Shadowy Planet (With Money)...
ADealWithWhoExactly?
CrossRoadsOrLackeyVille
Well whaddy'a know - Vancouver's worst mayor of all time is back in action.
With yet another 'project'.
And once again it is backed by a secretive money man that will not reveal himself, this time from 'out of province'.
The grizzled Doug Ward, who can say more between the lines of a single piece than an entire passel of lesser inkstained-wretches can say with a thousand barrels of pixel dust and a month of Sundays to pound out their gibberish ad nauseum, has the story in the VSun:
Ya, sure thing Sammy.
But just so you know - most academics of any repute (and/or any sense) will have nothing whatsoever to do with somebody who later, based on past performance, just may decide to 'rip their throats out'.
OK?
____
And I must say, given his past performance, that I'm shocked, shocked I tell you(!), that Lotusland's latest former Pol/pro-MediaMaven to turn blogger, Alex Tsakumis, has yet to weigh in on this matter.
Double-Secret Probation Update: Mr. Tsakumis has officially weighed in, arrived, and smashed the Spamalotteers to smithereens all in one magnificent post!
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CrossRoadsOrLackeyVille
Well whaddy'a know - Vancouver's worst mayor of all time is back in action.
With yet another 'project'.
And once again it is backed by a secretive money man that will not reveal himself, this time from 'out of province'.
The grizzled Doug Ward, who can say more between the lines of a single piece than an entire passel of lesser inkstained-wretches can say with a thousand barrels of pixel dust and a month of Sundays to pound out their gibberish ad nauseum, has the story in the VSun:
....The lifestyle change (since his removal from the mayoral ticket by his own party) has given the 49-year-old former Vancouver mayor time to work on his French, Cantonese and Mandarin, and to watch educational DVDs. (These days, Sullivan is fascinated by Euclidian geometry, and he knows something about Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's theories of knowledge.)
It's also given Sullivan time to reinvent his life once again with a project called the Global Civic Policy Society, a new non-profit organization mostly financed by one mysterious out-of-province patron.
Sullivan wants Global Civic, which so far appears to be a one-man band, to link the research of leading academics with politicians and other policy-makers.
He says his new role will be one of a "facilitator," adding, with a smile, "maybe this is the real Citizen Sam.".....
Ya, sure thing Sammy.
But just so you know - most academics of any repute (and/or any sense) will have nothing whatsoever to do with somebody who later, based on past performance, just may decide to 'rip their throats out'.
OK?
____
And I must say, given his past performance, that I'm shocked, shocked I tell you(!), that Lotusland's latest former Pol/pro-MediaMaven to turn blogger, Alex Tsakumis, has yet to weigh in on this matter.
Double-Secret Probation Update: Mr. Tsakumis has officially weighed in, arrived, and smashed the Spamalotteers to smithereens all in one magnificent post!
.
So When, Exactly Did The Calgary Flames (and their families) Get Their 'Exclusive' Flu Shots?
TheHighRiskOfBeingRich
AndFamousVille
Well.
Turns out it was last Friday, Oct 30th:
Hmmmm....Didn't the province of Alberta shut down all their public clinics at public locations the very next day, on Saturday, Oct 31st?
And why, precisely, did the Calgary Flames (and their management, and their families) feel that they were justified in getting their 'private' shots at a very private location BEFORE all those members of the public who are at high risk of suffering serious complications and/or death if they were to contract the H1N1 virus because they could not get vaccinated in time?
Well, apparently, it had something to do with the fear of the rampant spreading of contagion that is being facilitated by those those coughing, sneezing and wheezing customs officers that patrol the US/Canada border.
Seriously:
...(Flames president) King said they felt the shots were a priority for the players because of their extensive cross-border travel and the close-contact physical nature of their sport....
Unbelievable.
(and I, for one, can't wait for some waterheaded commentator like, say, oh I dunno, this guy, to say something about how this just proves that the 'public system is broken!')
.
AndFamousVille
Well.
Turns out it was last Friday, Oct 30th:
"....Ken King, president of the (Calgary) Flames (professional hockey club), said Tuesday (Nov 03/09) the players and their families received their shots on Friday (Oct 30/09) at a private location....."
Hmmmm....Didn't the province of Alberta shut down all their public clinics at public locations the very next day, on Saturday, Oct 31st?
And why, precisely, did the Calgary Flames (and their management, and their families) feel that they were justified in getting their 'private' shots at a very private location BEFORE all those members of the public who are at high risk of suffering serious complications and/or death if they were to contract the H1N1 virus because they could not get vaccinated in time?
Well, apparently, it had something to do with the fear of the rampant spreading of contagion that is being facilitated by those those coughing, sneezing and wheezing customs officers that patrol the US/Canada border.
Seriously:
...(Flames president) King said they felt the shots were a priority for the players because of their extensive cross-border travel and the close-contact physical nature of their sport....
Unbelievable.
(and I, for one, can't wait for some waterheaded commentator like, say, oh I dunno, this guy, to say something about how this just proves that the 'public system is broken!')
.
