Saturday, April 30, 2011

Canada....Meet Stephen Harper's Base

LeeAtwaterLives!
RobFord'sGTAVille


Do not avert your eyes - we all need to see and hear this.





And can someone tell me why it is only Andrew Coyne that is calling out the Con Operatives on this crap?

Not to mention the even more putrid crap that is being peddled/wurlitzered by David Adkin et al. that no one else in the proMedia will denounce as the tripe that it is.

Sheesh.

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Saturday Morning Surge Update In Lotusland

IgnoreAllSmears
VoteVoteVoteVille

Spent the morning looking hard at all the numbers in British Columbia over at ProjectDemocracy.ca. It's really amazing the gains that the NDP has made in the last week.

In places where they were way out, like Fleetwood Pt Kells, they are now closing and within striking distance....In places where they were not the strategic choice like Esquimalt JdeF they now clearly are....And even in places where it was a little dicey, like Burnaby Dooogie Howser, they are now way out front....

I'll have a riding-by-riding breakdown up later today.

And for those who need a little Power with their Glory, not mention glorious spring Saturdays in Lotusland....Check out this new one from Shona Tucker and The Drive-By Truckers:


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And To Think, I Once Respected David Akin

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AllTheCodswallopThatFits
WorseThanFoxNewsEverWasVille
.
____

Update at bottom of post.....
____

Who knew these cretins would go the 'Make the bastard deny it' route filled with shite when the going got tough:

"He was sunk in despair. He was desperate... he called his equally depressed campaign manager and instructed him to.....accuse his high-riding opponent (the pig farmer) of having routine carnal knowledge of his barnyard sows, despite the pleas of his wife and children... His campaign manager was shocked. 'We can't say that, Lyndon,' he said. 'It's not true.' 'Of course it's not,' Johnson barked at him, 'but let's make the bastard deny it.'..."
Hunter Thompson, on Lyndon Johnson's 1948 Congressional Campaign.


And who knew that Akin, a man I once thought honourable based on direct experience, would be the hired quisling who would be fingered to start cranking the Wurlitzer.

Mein gott!

What will Kady think?



_______
Update: Midnight Friday Apr 29th, it turns out we now know what Ms. O'Malley thinks....Or....At least....Asks.
Double-Secret SmearUpdate: 8:00am Sat. Apr 30th.... The Smear just hit 500 news stories....Not in English, where it is only at 257...But in....French.

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Friday, April 29, 2011

The Poll Is In....Dippers Surging In Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca

AllTheOrangeThatFits
RaceRocksVille

The folks at ProjectDemocracy.ca, the strategic voting site, which is pretty much non-Dipper/Lib partisan when it makes a recommendation on how to beat the Con in a particular riding, went out and raised money to run a riding-specific poll in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca to get a better handle in what is going down there now that the Lib Keith Martin has retired from the seat once held by the old Dipper war horse round here, Dave Barrett.

And the results are in....If you want to beat the Con DeSouza, who came within an eyelash of winning last time, and who is the projected leader now, you have to lay off the new Liberal and go with the Dipper Garrison.


OK?


_______
Our thanks to a decidedly non-partisan poll watcher named Paul for pointing us in the right direction a couple of days ago.

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Why You've Gotta Surge AND Strat To Stop The Cons In Lotusland

WhenDippersMetLiberals
PointingNorthVille


From Eric Grenier's latest analysis, this morning, over at ThreeHundredEight:

"....In North Vancouver, the Conservative incumbent Andrew Saxton is now projected to retain his seat. It had been held by the Liberals in the projection for the entire campaign. Also in British Columbia, the New Democrats are now projected to win Surrey North, a Conservative riding. Jasbir Sandhu is the NDP candidate there...."


So.

What that means is that you've gotta ride the Surge with the Dipper Sandhu in Surrey North to stop one of the original StealthCons, Dona Cadman.

But, if you live up against the mountains in North Van and you want to stop the Con, you have to lay off the Dipper Charrois and go with the Lib Noormohamed.

OK?

______
Will try and be back with more comprehensive summary of Lower Mainland later (sorry, heavy work day today)....Still waiting for that Esquimalt Juan de Fuca riding poll to be released over at ProjectDemocracy so that my Mom and Dad can know whether to Surge or Strat come Monday .....

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Can You Have Your Surge And Strat-Vote Too?

AllTheDippersThatFit
MinorityReportVille

_____

Update: Thursday Apr 28/11 @ 5pm, at bottom of post
_____

Yes, you pretty much can.

If you live on Vancouver Island that is.

For example, in Vancouver Island North and Nanaimo-Alberni, two ridings where Conservative incumbents can potentially be sent packing, the only legitimate second choice is the Dipper. Even without the surge this really is the case on the North Island where things are tightening to the point of a statistical dead heat between the new Dipper Leonard and the skin-of-his-teeth-in-'08 Con Duncan. It may come down to Dipper GOTV efforts in Comox, Courtenay and CRiver (and the get out the vote thing could very well be greatly affected by all this surge talk).

In Nanaimo-Alberni it's a tough uphill climb for the Dipper Maartman to beat the longtime Con Lunney, especially given the weird, almost inexplicably deep Reform roots there that have become so entrenched that there is very little soft Lib vote left to dig out. In fact, it looks like it will have to come from a bunch of folks that went Green last time if the Surge is going to be successful. Although, I've gotta believe that there are still a goodly number of older folks in those parts that might just have a lingering soft spot for labour in their hearts (if not their paid-off mortgages) that could peel away some of that weird, populist backlash vote from the Cons.

Victoria and Nanaimo-Cowichan both look to be Dipper locks, especially with the surge, although I'm a little worried about some Lizzie May spillover that could become a bit of a a problem given that the Greens showed some strength in both ridings last time.

Which brings us to Saanich Gulf Islands....Sorry Dippers, this is where you don't get to eat Con Cake yourselves (and in fact you must NOT). You've got to let Lizzie do it, as she looks to be in a statistical dead-heat with the Minister of Hockey Rinks and Roundabouts, but never, ever, Robocalls, Gary Lunn.

And finally, the one where the surge really matters - Esquimalt-Juan De Fuca. In fact, it matters so much that this is where I think libs (the real small 'l' ones, I mean) may just have to hold their noses and go Dipper in the end. The Con DeSouza barely (i.e. less than a 100 votes) lost to longtime multi-party incumbent Dr. Martin last time out. But Keith is gone now which puts him on the same footing as Dave Barrett who once held this riding as well. The recent polls for Dipper Garrison and Lib Szpak are all over the place, but Greg Morrow, who is always very careful, has Garrison rising. So, given all that if ever there was a riding to both go with the Surge and be Strategic too, this is the place anybody that wants to see a Harper Majority stopped, this is where you have to go with the NDP to stop the Con. And what's even crazier, this (and/or Van Isle North) could be the last riding in the country to declare which could make things doubly exciting if the Cons are somewhere in the 153/4 range around 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific on Monday night.....Did you hear that Mom and Dad?

_____
Update: Paul Willcocks, in the comments, mentions the very important fact that Project Democracy, a StratVote focussed site, has commissioned a poll in Esq(notFrenchy)Fuqua and will drop it tomorrow/Friday....That should help solidify things a bit either way for potential small 'l' nose holders or, perhaps, even Dippers if the surge has actually already passed.

______
Speaking of RoboCalls.....I wonder if there will be any calls to LibLeaners from the bowels of the Rainbow Warrior claiming that Lizzie was actually born in New Zealand to parents from the French Foreign Legion and is thus is technically a Peace-War Coalitionist who can't be trusted to successfully navigate the new PatBay-Airport Turnpike/NotHockeyRink on a Nuclear-Powered Moped sanx HandleBar FauxRocketLaunchers while screaming that old Ozzy tune about eco-friendly, acid-hopped Trains from the Sabbath days.....Naw, no one would ever try something as Crazy as that......Right?
Next Up....It gets a little tougher, with first call Surge/Strat recommendations in FraserValley/LMainlandSouth....Stay-tuned.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Strat vs. Surge....Which Side Are You On?

Poll-O-Rama-Llama
DingDongVille


If you are interested in what is really going on as Canada's 41st Federal Election campaign progresses and you are not stopping by Eric Grenier's place "ThreeHundredEight.com" regularly you are really missing out.

Now.

While you might have issues with Eric's methodology for analyzing and assessing polls in an effort to track things nationally, regionally and locally (i.e. riding-by-riding) you will really appreciate how comprehensive and thoughtful he is, regardless.

In addition, the comment threads contain a lot of stuff that is actually insightful and informative. This is facilitated by the fact that Eric himself often wades into the threads to clarify points of contention. This is the stuff of true blogging that is almost entirely absent from the swollen rivers of total gibberish that flow through the proMedia election sites.

Anyway, as you can imagine, Eric has been spending a lot of time this week trying to figure out if the NDP 'surge' is for real and, even more important, what it will really mean come Monday.

I found the following paragraph, from today's post, most interesting:

".....With the Conservatives around 38% and the Liberals and New Democrats spliting the vote relatively evenly between them, as Innovative and Nanos show, we can expect the Tories to pull a majority government out of the mess. But if the Conservatives are instead at 34-35% with the NDP nipping at their heels, as EKOS and Angus-Reid indicate, then we can expect a re-run of the 2006 election with the New Democrats taking the place of Paul Martin's Liberals....."


Now, here's my take.

Either way, both scenarios are within the margin of error in most National polls that have landed so far this week.

Thus, again, I don't think we way out here in Lotusland can afford not to vote strategically, regardless the 'surge', if we want to do our best to ensure that all that is really Canada is not dismantled and destroyed by an unleashed Stephen Harper over the next four years.

Which means that if you live in Saanich and the Islands and it looks like Elizabeth May has the best shot of winning come Sunday....

Well?

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Lotuslandian Strategic Voting....How It Works, Pt 1.

StoppingHarpageddon
OneStratVoteAtATimeVille


Well, it's just seven days to go until the General.

Which means it's time to kick off Strategic Voting Week here in Lotusland*.

How could this Strat-Voting thing actually work?

Well, we are going to show you with the next few posts.

And then, later in the week we will make comprehensive recommendations for those ridings where it does really matter (and those where it doesn't too, so that you can let your conscience run wild).

So, for our first primer, we're going to have a look at the riding of Vancouver Island North.

Here is our Strat-Vote recommendation from 2008:

Vancouver Island North - Vote Split Alert!!!!.....Greeniac Stone is a solid third but, like Liberal Fleischer, can NOT win.....Con Duncan is very, very close and/or maybe even slightly ahead.....Thus, please, please, please, do not hand one to Harper here..... to Stop The Con go with the Dipper Bell.

And here is what actually happened:

Canadian federal election, 2008
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJohn Duncan26,16645.78%+5.17%$76,173
New DemocratCatherine J. Bell23,68141.43%-0.29%$80,622
GreenPhilip Stone4,5637.98%+3.14%$12,309
LiberalGeoff Fleischer2,3914.18%-8.65%$2,026
IndependentJason Draper3610.63%--
Total valid votes/Expense limit100.00%$109,871
Conservative gain from New Democratic PartySwing+2.73



Now, to give the folks of the North Island their due, many of them did their best to Strat-Vote last time out because there was a big drop in Lib support from 2006. The trouble was, some of that soft Liberal vote actually went Con. And there was a Green gain as well, which tipped the balance that gave it to the Con.

So here's the thing....If you live in Courtenay, Comox, Campbell River, or Alert Bay and you don't want to be ruled by Harpies for the next 4 years, if you vote Green or Lib you are helping to doom yourself to it.

The choice here is stark because neither the Greeniac nor the Lib have a hope in heckfire of reaching 10%.

And that is how Stat Voting works.

OK?

______
*Now, for my Dipper friends who are bound to give me a hard time for deciding to once again go down the Strat-Vote Road given big Jack's 'surge', please note that I have started with one that is designed to help an NDP candidate. Obviously, future examples and recommendations will involve taking away Dipper votes. My half-a-mamma-mea-culpa rationale for doing so can be found here.


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Monday, April 25, 2011

Harpageddon....How Close Is It, Really?

.
...Really, Really Close.


Greg Morrow, who is both a clumper and a splitter when it comes to analyzing polling data, has the story.

****

Now......

So far I have kept quiet on the business of 'strategic voting' this time around.

Why?

Because I do want a government where the Dippers have real influence.

But even 25% and a major break through in La Belle Province for Jack Layton means nothing if Stephen Harper rubs Atlantic Canada into the boards, high sticks Ontario in the teeth, and then scalps Lotusland with a Wayne Makiavellian swing of the stick to the cranium to get that beat-'em-in-the-alley/politics-of-division-and-destruction-assisted majority.

Why all the hyperbole?

Because I am convinced that a four year Harpageddon style election cycle will do irreparable harm to the fabric of this country, its people, and its institutions.

Thus, I will soon start up another version of how to vote strategically in Lotusland, much like I did in 2008.

Stay tuned.


______
In the meantime, Fern Hill, who has been slugging it out in the no holds barred StratVote Octagon the past week or so has a bunch of very useful linkology up here.


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Saturday, April 23, 2011

BC Place....Who Pays For The $600,000,000 Big Tent Now?

HeadsTheyWin
TailsWeLoseVille


"PavCo relies on its sole shareholder to provide any capital investments in property to provide any capital investments in property, plant and equipment when required, to assist with operational funding"


Which is all fine and good.

But.

What happens when that sole 'shareholder' tells it's 4,554,085 bankers (ie. the people of British Columbia) that there is no money left for stupid stuff?

Like....

You know.

Something really frivolous.

Like....

Oh, I dunno.

How about...

Schools?

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Thursday, April 21, 2011

If Mr. Harper Was So 'Concerned' About Mr. Carson's Ask...

.
...Why Did He Give Him The Money Anyway?


What the heck am I talking about?

Well, it turns out that after the PMO started lighting their collective hair on fire when Bruce Carson asked the Harper government for $25 million dollars for one of his shill factories while he was still working for said government, they gave him the money anyway.

Only for a different set of shillophants.

From Greg Watson's excellent CBC piece this morning:

.....The Harper government subsequently approved a $25-million grant for Carbon Management Canada, another research institute chaired by Carson.....



So forget about all this 'mistakes were made in pre-screening' codswallop, because clearly decisions were made to give Mr. Carson what he wanted after the PMO was already fully aware of the good Mr. Carson's inappropriate deeds while he was on the job.

OK?

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Who Really Slayed Vancouver's Casino Dragon?

AllTheCitizensThatFit
PublicHearingsVille

Before the deal went down, Frances Bula published an informative and insightful piece in the Globe yesterday morning that explained how the shifting of the political winds, including the 'fresh' new blasts of hot air blowing in from Victoria and/or the local Helijet pad, made it politically palatable for Vancouver City Council to give the thumbs down to the Casino Industrial Complex that was slated to go up next to Gordon Campbell's Big Tent that is replacing Bill Bennett's Marshmallow.

Which is all fine and good.

Especially given that Council voted unanimously to kill the thing last night.

But it would be a really, really big mistake for folks 'round Lotusland, regardless what they see, hear and read in the local proMedia over the next couple of newscycles, not to understand that the literally hundreds of delegations that represented thousands of people that spoke to council over a multiplicity of marathon public hearings, including sessions that took place over an entire weekend, also made a big, big difference.

Which is the way things are supposed to work.

Aren't they?


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I had my own beef with the Casino Industrial Complex, which mostly had to do with the way with the initial deal was done on the 'inside' of the pre-Crunchy provincial regime (see old posts at the tucked way at the top of the sidebar on the left).
A whole bunch of the delegations/folks, but certainly not all, that worked to stop this thing can be found here.


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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Photos Michael Sona Did Not Tweet-Up

TwitterDee,TwitterDuh
Operatives'RThemVille

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Quadruple Sow Cow Update (Feb 24, 2012): Does Ezra Levant know the good Mr. Sona?

Triple-Scoop-Post-RoboCall Revelation Shuffle Update (Feb 23, 2012): is.....here.
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Double Secret Probation Update (Apr 25, 2011): I have been contacted by a very nice person from the 'The Landmark Report' who wanted to set the record straight. She pointed out that the 'Tweet' referred to below came from the 'editor' not the 'proprietor' of that fine online publication. I have thus made that correction in an editted version of the post below. The representative of said fine online publication also took umbrage at my description of it being 'right-sided' and then went on to state that "it is a site that fosters debate and discussion from all sides of the spectrum" Now, that is a most interesting claim. I've had a look around there and I am not entirely convinced. Regardless, I have edited the post below to make it clear that it is my opinion that the site contains considerable right-sided content of a Canadian political nature. Finally, during my poking around at the very fine 'Landmark Report' it was most illuminating to find that, based on one of his own posts, it is clear that the good editor in question is very proud of his on air support for a political commentator that, in the opinion of some at least, always aspires to foster debate from 'all sides of the spectrum', Mr. Mark Steyn, while the latter was a guest on the program of he who, in the opinion of very, very few, is always inclusive of all political views, Mr. Rush Limbaugh.

Original Update: At bottom of post....
_____


Yesterday, Conservative Alliance/Coalition Party of Canada operative Mr. Michael Sona, who is currently helping run the campaign of coalition candidate Mr. Marty Burke in Guelph Ontario, retweeted a message from the editor of a very fine website called 'The Landmark Report' that leads back to this post.

The 'Landmark Report', in my opinion, publishes a considerable amount right-sided Canadian political reportage.

Regardless, the post in question, which has been wurlitzered 'round the intewebz by some very well meaning Conservative Coalition apologists, shows five photos that were apparently taken at the University of Guelph last Wednesday during a soon-to-be-hotly disputed 'special initiative' that had been designed to help students cast their ballots before they left campus after final exams.

In fact, this initiative was so special in terms of how it was designed to help get young students out to vote before they left the riding to go home for the summer prior to the regularly scheduled polling day on May 2nd that it was fully supported by none other than the President of Guelph University, who got all avatared-up to do so, as can be seen in the video below...



So....

Getting back to the tweets by the twitterers/operatives/journalists/conservatives concerned, please note that four of the five photos posted by 'The Landmark Report' were taken outside at the University of Guelph last Wednesday.

As in outside the 'special initiative' station where students were casting their ballots.

And, to give the avowed apologists their due, there do appear to be some young folks holding Liberal party literature in some of those photos who are, again, outside.

Please note, however, that the fifth Beatle.....errr.....Photo was taken inside, at what is clearly the special polling station itself.

And in that most (non) incriminating photo of all there appears to be absolutely nothing nefarious or untoward whatsoever going on.


****

Now.

According to numerous press accounts, based on the statements of eyewitnesses, the dispute at the special polling station revolved, at least in part, around the good Mr. Sona himself who has also been acting as a ministerial staffer in Ottawa during the election cycle off-season.


But here's the real thing....

It turns out that five very different pictures have been published on another very fine website, that of the Guelph Mercury.

And who is in every one of the pictures taken at the University of Guelph, inside, at the site of the special initiative last Wednesday?

Why none other than, the good Mr. Sona himself.


_______
And whaddy'a know.....It turns out that this is not the first time during this election campaign that a reporter at the Guelph Mercury, Mr. Greg Layson, has done the digging to determine that that the fine Conservative Operative currently working in the Guelph riding for Mr. Burke has been involved in disputes involving local university students attempting to exercise their rights as citizens of Canada.....Gosh.....Would'a thunk it?
And whosoever could have possibly thunk that some of those fine, upstanding and well meaning apologists could possibly have been in on the front end of the wurlitzering of the previous dispute...

Update, 12pm noon on Tuesday Apr 19th (~12hr after this post went up)....It's very interesting, but now, suddenly, the five photos of the good Mr. Sona at the 'special initiative', have been added without comment other than identification to the original 'Landmark Report' post....


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Monday, April 18, 2011

The Conservatives' New Translator: Mr. Michael Sona

TheHubrisOfTheTwitts
OneHundredAndFortyCharactersAtATimeVille

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Update: At Bottom of post.
Double Secret Probation Update: Was he or wasn't he there?...Photographs appear to confirm initial eyewitness reports regarding the presence of the good Mr. Sona at the University of Guelph's special ballot session last Wednesday....
______

Mr. Michael Sona is the communications director for the campaign of Conservative Coalition candidate Marty Burke in Guelph Ontario.

He was also, according to a number of eyewitnesses, present during the controversial confrontation on the University of Guelph campus last week.

The following is a report on that confrontation in the Guelph Mercury published yesterday April 16, 2010:

....Several students and a Liberal scrutineer present at the polling station allege Marty Burke’s director of communication, Michael Sona, attempted Wednesday to grab a ballot box in an effort to stop voting at the U of G polling station.

Sona and the Burke campaign team directed all requests for media comment about this episode to the Conservative Party of Canada national campaign.

In a news release issued Friday morning, the party “vehemently denies that any of its workers or volunteers interfered” at the polling station.

“In particular, the Marty Burke campaign denies that any of its workers or volunteers touched a ballot box or ballot,” read the release. “The outlandish and unfounded claims being spread on the internet are the product of desperation, and are most regrettable.”

Students Brenna Anstett and Claire Whalen both said Sona tried to grab the ballot box. Anstett was “100 per cent” sure it was Sona after she identified him in a group photo provided by the Guelph Mercury.

Sona is a former University of Guelph student and former member of the Guelph Campus Conservatives. He also founded the group’s Facebook page.

Conservative party spokesperson Ryan Sparrow, the official responding to media queries about the case, wouldn’t say if Sona had been on campus in connection with the episode....


Now regardless who 'touched' what, or not, what is it, exactly, that the Conservative Operative Mr. Sona was translating as being 'wrong' in terms of the actions of E(lections) C(anada) or anyone else in Guelph?

Because, based on the following, from the Elections Canada press release on the matter at hand, it would appear that absolutely nothing was.

'Wrong' I mean.

"...While the initiative at the University of Guelph was not pre-authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Canada Elections Act provides that electors may apply for and vote by special ballot. A special ballot coordinator, appointed by the local returning officer, oversaw the activities at the University of Guelph. All information at our disposal indicates that the votes were cast in a manner that respects the Canada Elections Act and are valid..."


So, given all that, is it possible that the Conservative Coalition of Canada and its Operatives were actually looking, not for something that was 'wrong', but rather something else?

Something like the following, also from Elections Canada:

"...In light of the focus on youth and student electoral participation at the 41st general election, and on efforts to increase voter interest and turnout among this group, a well-intentioned returning officer undertook a special initiative to create an opportunity for students at the University of Guelph to vote by special ballot.

Once Elections Canada officials were made aware of the local initiative in Guelph, the returning officer was instructed not to engage in any further activities of a similar nature. All returning officers have received this instruction..."


Does that part in bold, directly above, read like a successful voter suppression strategy to you?

Sheesh.


_______
Thanks to the anonymous commentor on a previous thread for pointing me towards the appropriate operative in this matter......
Update, Mon Apr 18th: Saskboy, with the help of Dr. Dawg, goes up the TwitterCon Food Chain.

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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Something's Happenin' Here....

TheKidsReallyAreAllAlright
DemocracyVille

_____

Not-so-hopeful Update that helps further the Stephen Harper voter suppression strategy can be found at the bottom of the post
_____


C. and littler e. were off doing something fun with our friend M. last night that included the Whack-A-Doodle.

And Bigger E. was out rabble-rousing with, get this, her out of control 'Reach For The Top' team.

Which meant that I got to stay at the lab late on a Farrelly Brothers Friday night working on a paper which we think is pretty important because it will add another brick in the growing wall that we helped start that is this.

Anyway.

The upshot of all this is that when I finally left the building I couldn't help but notice that the atrium of the building was filled with kids really, really working.

Why?

Because it is final exam time and these kids take this stuff seriously.

Way more seriously than I ever did back in the days when Gradual School and Fed Gov - sponsored post-doctoral fellowships to go to crazy-ass biotech meccas like the Bay Area were little more than a gleam in my tiny post punk-addled mind.

****

However, even back in the old days when I was an undergraduate I did manage to grasp the truism that right-sided pols hated being forced to run elections when school was in session.

Because if they did it could turn the results of safe, well-heeled neighbourhoods upside down.

Kind of like what happened in West Pointiest Grey when our friend Mr. Reid's horse, Darlene Marzari, made it safe for the socialist hordes, not to mention the socially aware campus Lutherans, to storm the gates at the corner of Wesbrook and University Blvds way back in 1991.

Or some such thing.

****

So, I think we can be pretty certain that Mr. Stephen Harper and his minions likely heaved a heavy sigh of relief when they realized that the upcoming Federal Election would land in early May after most kids have left their college campuses and gone home for the summer.

Except......

The kids, aided by all their pyramid power-driven social media tools, got smart sometime in April, and started doing stuff like this:

About 300 University of Guelph students took part in a non-partisan rally during Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the city Monday.Sporting face paint and wearing red and white clothing to symbolize Canada, the students gathered on Branion Plaza around 3 p.m.

They then made the trek as a group across campus to the Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre.They waited in the rain on the edge of the hotel’s property for Harper’s buses to arrive.

The students carried a banner reading: “Surprise. We Are Voting” and chanted, "We will vote!" as others banged drums and played the bagpipes.


And they did.

Vote that is.

Which of course drove Mr. Harpers minions crazy and has likely given them another reason to try and make Elections Canada go the way of the longform census:

OTTAWA (Apr 15, 2011) — Elections Canada says ballots cast at the University of Guelph are valid.

The elections watchdog has issued a statement slapping down a Conservative party effort to have the votes annulled.

Elections Canada agrees the special balloting at the university was not pre-authorized before the election campaign, as it should have been.

Nevertheless, the agency says the votes were "cast in a manner that respects the Canada Elections Act and are valid."

The Conservatives had complained about the process, alleging that its local campaign scrutineer had not been allowed into the room and that Liberal campaign material had been seen in the voting area.

However, Elections Canada says all information at its disposal indicates the proceedings were above board.

About 700 ballots were cast Wednesday as part of a "vote mob" organized by students to encourage young people to participate in the election.



But here's the real thing.

Student-organized 'Vote Mobs' are not just for Guelph anymore.

Because there are now 18 of them scheduled all across the country.

And I just realized that, despite my age, I can go take part in one that is happening next week that is only a two minute bike ride from the lab.

Gosh.

The kids really are alright.




______
Update: Because I was working late in the lab last night I missed this. It would appear that the voter suppression strategy that was breech-birthed last time round, is back, assisted once again by a newly scared-straight and narrowest of narrow E-Canada.


.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Screw The Big Lie, Because...

.
....Steve's Got Truthiness On His Side.

How else can one explain how Mr. Harper could state, unequivocally and repeatedly, that there is no decrease in corporate taxes this year because the decrease was not announced this year.

Or some such codswallop.

Of course, the real tragedy of all this truthiness is the fact that the big media outlets in this country, including the CBC, have turned this into a "he said-he said" faux Battle Royale between Mr. Harper and Jack Layton based on last night's debate antics.

When the fourth estate is unwilling to call a demonstrable falsehood, especially one uttere with malice aforethought, what it really is we are in big, big trouble.

OK?

.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Bashing Trudeau: Focus-Grouped Redmeat Garnish For The Base...


....Or Steve Harper's Real Message For All Canadians?


Here is Mr. Harper speaking yesterday:

..."I think it's probably a bit unfair to bash somebody in the grave. He's not here to defend himself. But as you know, Mr. Trudeau did have a different philosophy of government — a high-spending philosophy, centralizing philosophy — and that's not the philosophy of this government." ....



And here is a summary passage from an old CBC Bio that describes how the young Mr. Harper came to detest Mr. Trudeau and his policies quite some time ago:

...Trudeau was one of the young Stephen Harper's earliest political inspirations.

That admiration ended when Trudeau enraged the West by bringing in the National Energy Program in 1980. By then, Harper was living in Alberta and about to study economics at the University of Calgary....



So.

Is Mr. Harper's recent NEP-free trashing of Mr. Trudeau's legacy a carefully calibrated limited release of cyanide-laced 30-year old resentment served up fresh, as redmeat garnish for the base?

Or.....

Is it something that he and his have decided is now ready for prime time, nationwide?

****

Why does this stuff matter?

Well, if Mr. Harper has actually decided that the time has come to spread Mulroney era chocolate (coloured) sauce all over the legacy of Pierre Trudeau, it can only mean one thing.

Which is that he has come to the conclusion that the long game he invented so long ago deep within the eternal shiteshine of his Calgary Southwest mind has worked so well that Canadians have become 'conservative' enough to swallow this revisionist swill whole.

In other words, it is not just for the old Reformers or select residents of the 905 belt anymore.

Instead, it is for all of us.

OK?


.





Sunday, April 10, 2011

It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City

WhatTenBucks
CanBuyYouVille


And/or an uncommitted BCNDP member in the run-up to the next week's leadership vote.

How do I know this?

Because it is Sunday morning and John Horgan's wife just called me.

Or maybe it was his Mom.

I'm not really sure.

****

One thing I do know for sure is that a whole lot of folks that I have never met have been furiously calling me the last two weeks.

Even C., who loves talking on the phone, has had enough.

Maybe I just should have told them all from the start that I was committed to Nick Simons.

Oh.

Wait.....


_______
Final leadership debate is on Shaw at 2:00pm this afternoon.
Header quote refers to this.


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Saturday, April 09, 2011

The Hubris Of The Twits

ShowingTheirStupid
OneHundredAndFortyCharactersAtATimeVille


Mr. Chad Pederson is the Executive Director of the BC Liberal Party.

The very same BC Liberal Party that has had huge problems telling the truth about their massive, billion dollar stadium roof-assisted, provincial deficit.

So.

Given all that, why would the good Mr. Pederson tweet the following:



Unless, of course the title of the post actually fits.

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Thursday, April 07, 2011

Fight The Power...


....With Coloured Lights.



Background on the Republican Governor's attempts to censor a labor mural in the offices of the great State of Maine's Department of..... uhhhh......'Labor' can be found here.

The video above is a creative, clever and completely non-destructive way to effectively neutralize the delusional Governor's cretinous power with nothing more than a laptop, a projector and a light show.

The kids really are alright.

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