Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fe...Fi...Fo...Fum.......

DayOfTheLongKnives
LibberVille


.....Does Ujji Smell The Blood Of The Marrissen's One?


After a squeaker win in his formerly firewalled fortress of SouthVancouver, Ujjal Dosanjh was on with the Cluffmaster Flash this morning ranting and raving and screaming and blaming the NDP for everything.

Then he pretty much promised to never vote with the HarperCons on anything.

Finally, after being mildly admonished to let others speak by the normally always acquiescing Cluffie, Ujji slammed down the phone and headed off into the new day dawning.

And, as far as we know, there is absolutely no truth to the not-yet-existent rumour that Mr. Dosanjh has already filed his papers to run for the Leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.

After all, it's not like the Ujj doesn't already have a track record of ramming rusted political party hulks aground for good.....

Mr. Dosanjh was B.C. premier when the Liberals swept the two-term NDP government from office in May 2001. It was the most lopsided political drubbing in provincial history, with the Gordon Campbell Liberals winning 77 of 79 seats.


OK?

.

Was It The Bloc.......

PouletsRoosting
Arts'RFrenchiesTooVille


......Or The Phoque?



.

All The Good That Fits....

SomeUnintendedConsequences
AreReallyInconsequentialVille



As the no-longer-so Big Red Machine gets ready to swab the decks, one of the more feral members of their very own Operation Rodentia says he is going to jump ship.

Let's hope it's true.

.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Rolling Con-Stopping Updates In B.C........

AllTheLiveBlogsThatFit
Lotuslandia


You think it's all bad?

Ha! Think again.....will roll with LiveBlogging with actual numbers rather than the pablum you get in the ProMedia.....

_______
11:25pm....A lot of of the Bloggodome chatter is saying that the Bloc saved Canada....Me, I figure it was the Phoque.......That's it, I'm done - G'night all....

With VanIsleNorth going Con despite a pretty good looking StratVote......here's pretty much the final at 11:oopm Pacific, scary, but not disastrous as Cons will wear the big bank bailout that got lost in all the deflector spin today.....


Leading:
Popular vote (%):
Cons.
143
37.7
Lib.
77
26.3
B.Q.
49
10.0
N.D.P.
37
18.1
Other
2
7.9
Total
308
100


Total seats: 308

Majority: 155



10:56pm.....Esquimalt......Lib Martin wins by ~ 150 with one poll left to report...... Sure hope my Mom and Dad were two of those....

10:53pm.....VanCentre....Dr. Fry will win with ~35%, but this one is crazy with 80 polls still to report....Dipper Byers, Little Lord Con and Greeniac Adriane Carr will split the rest pretty evenly....

10:51pm....Esquimalt.....Not convinced yet that Lib Martin has beaten Con DeSouza due to the split with Dipper Burgis....Martin up by 105 votes with five polls left to report...

10:50pm....VanSouth.....Lib Dosanjh will win, but not by much, up by 800 with one poll left to report.....

10:41pm....The two Nanaimos split....Cowichan goes to Dipper Crowder due at least in part maybe to StratVote given that both Greeniac and Lib were <10%.... style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The StratVote buttkicker was in VanQuadra
...Amazing to me how it was the original StealthCon who got crushed in VanQuadra former EarthWind&Fire LINOphile Joyce Murray will win by ~ 5,000.....Re: the StratVote - both Dipper Caplan and Greeniac Grice below 10%.....

10:26 Mistah Tee is hanging the Carbon Tax around elGordo's neck already on the notsoGiant98.....enough already Bill...Sheesh

10:25pm....VanIsleNord....Con Duncan is going to win Dipper Bell is done....8.2% for Greens might have done it

10:16pm....Saanich Gulf Islands.....Nukes For Tarsands ConMinister Lunn is going to win, but check out votes for non-existent Dipper and think of those phantom RoboCalls for him....Kinda makes you go hmmmmmm....eh? 228/241 polls reporting....it's done lLib Green Penn loses... and the Greeniac vote for Lewis at 10.6% helped the Con no matter how you slice it - OK? Essentially what you have here is a Green vote of 50% that lost....

Saanich--Gulf IslandsLast updated: 01:14 ET
PartyCandidateVotes% Votes
CAPJeremy Arney1220.20.2%
LibertarianDale P. Leier2140.40.4%
Green PartyAndrew Lewis5,93310.610.6%
ConservativeGary Lunn24,01442.842.8%
Christian Heritage PartyDan Moreau960.20.2%
WBPPatricia O'Brien1730.30.3%
LiberalBriony Penn22,33839.839.8%
NDP-New Democratic PartyJulian West3,2375.85.8%
Total number of valid votes:
56,127


______

10:15pm.....Van South and Esquimalt....Libs now slightly ahead in both...

9:51pm.....Saanich and the Isles....really really tightening now....Lib Penn now at 40% and less than 1,300 votes behind.....if that RoboCalling crap is the margin of victory there oughta be an investigation!

9:49pm.....On the Tyee's Hook Blog Crawdaddy Killiam is already attacking the Strat Voters in North Van.....Huh!.....

9:47pm....Here come's the Harpoon....Hmmmmm.....his French sounds kind of bad, maybe somebody from RCI should attack him....speaking of which, why not start right now with the Politics of Destruction.....sheesh.....Are those Dion-Not-A-Leader ads still running? Did they send the StayPufftMarsmallowDuffy his gold bullion yet....Now thanking the unelected Co-Leader of his party...

9:45pm Esquimalt....pretty much dead heat between Con DeSouza and Lib Martin....split to Dipper Burgis is killing Lib here...

9:43pm....Burnaby DoogieHowser now way close, Dipper Siksay by a whisker over Con Leung...175/208... decks cleared by StratVoting here...

9:40pm.....VanSouth.....Lib Dosanjh back on top, barely over Con Yong....

9:36pm.....StealthConMinister Lunn just on basking in glow of gopher balls served up by the Cluffmaster Flash.....think this might be premature....despite Greeniac split and RoboCalls for Dipper, Lib Penn is closing the gap somewhat....162.241

Saanich--Gulf IslandsLast updated: 00:33 ET
PartyCandidateVotes% Votes
CAPJeremy Arney710.20.2%
LibertarianDale P. Leier1470.40.4%
Green PartyAndrew Lewis3,98010.410.4%
ConservativeGary Lunn16,58643.543.5%
Christian Heritage PartyDan Moreau680.20.2%
WBPPatricia O'Brien1220.30.3%
LiberalBriony Penn15,01639.439.4%
NDP-New Democratic PartyJulian West2,1385.65.6%
Total number of valid votes:
38,128


______
9:33pm.....Vancouver/Kingsway.....Dipper Davies looks safe....StealthCon Rayek is neck and neck for big money Lib Yuan....a pox on both of Emerson's houses!!!!! 126/206 polls reporting...

9:30pm....Victoria Dipper Savoie wins....NanaimoCowichan Dipper Crowder crushes with 46%

9:29pm....NorthSurrey.....DonaCon is going to win....pretty good Strat for Dipper Arab, but DonaCon is above magic 40%.....Ugggggghhhhhh....125/179

9:27pm....BurnabyNewWest....Dipper Julian winning going away 110/206

9:21pm....Esquimalt Frenchy Fuqua.....Lib Martin looks to be fading, split from Dipper Burgis is killing him and handing it to Con DeSouza....but only 50/225 polls reporting so far....

9:19pm.... VanCentre....Lib Fry looks to be in but it's a massive split-o-rama...amongst everybody else especially impressive has been Greeniac Carr

9:17pm....VanIsleNord....Dipper Bell just slightly ahead of Con Duncan....If she loses it will be due to Greeniac split....150/298...

9:10pm....Saanich and the Isles Lunn ahead by less than 2K....the splitting of the Green vote to Lewis is killing Lib Penn....not to mention the 1.7 K that has gone to RoboCalls for non-existent Dipper!!!!.....129/241.....Let's hope there is still a big UVIC vote to come (maybe)....

9:07pm......CBC projection now down to 142 Con.....if they get knocked down below 140 I'll be happy because they will be wearing all the crap that is coming down by the time the next equinox comes...
____

9:06pm....Richmond....Way, way gone to ConWong....Lib Chan is done (and it has nothing to do with splitting)....125/207 polls
_____

9:04pm.....NorthVan....The Strat is on, but it doesn't look like it's going to be enough for Lib Bell to Stop the Con Saxton....
____
9:02pm.....Jack L. on with his riding victory speech.....if the Cons get held below 140 I'll congratulate him.....if it's more I'm not so sure.....what really bugs me here is that it looks like the Politics of Destruction has worked in Canuckistan (assisted by the split of course)....Thank the Goddess for the Bloc....
_____

9:01pm NewWest/Coquitlam.....Dipper Black looks reasonably OK, but it is not yet in the bag over Con Martin....smart voting here....118/214 reporting...

9:00pm Newton North Dallas Fourty.....Lib Dhaliwal holding on, but Dipper Townsley could still sink him...80/196 reporting
______

8:55pm CadillacFleetwoodPortKells.... the con of all Cons Nina G is running away because of the total (and I mean total) lack of StratVoting....It's a complete ticket split (half the polls in)

PartyCandidateVotes% Votes
NDP-New Democratic PartyNao Fernando5,49122.522.5%
ConservativeNina Grewal10,80544.344.3%
LiberalBrenda Locke6,61027.127.1%
Green PartyBrian Newbold1,5126.26.2%
Total number of valid votes:
24,418

_____


8:51pm WestVanSunshineResortVille - ConStopping won't do it here Weston way ahead, Greeniac turncoat Wilson not a factor.....

PartyCandidateVotes% Votes
NDP-New Democratic PartyBill Forst1,89211.211.2%
LiberalIan Sutherland4,94429.329.3%
ConservativeJohn Weston7,59745.045.0%
Green PartyBlair Wilson2,44014.514.5%
Total number of valid votes:
16,873

_____



8:43pm Burnaby Doogie-Howser...Dipper Siksay holding on....looks like StratVote holding here


LiberalBill Cunningham3,39719.219.2%
CommunistGeorge Gidora770.40.4%
ConservativeRonald Leung6,39236.136.1%
Green PartyDoug Perry1,0796.16.1%
NDP-New Democratic PartyBill Siksay6,76138.238.2%
Total number of valid votes:
17,706


______
8:40pm....VanSouth

Ujji's in tough, but coming back....I think the early bad results were probably poll specific

Marxist-LeninistCharles Boylan520.40.4%
NDP-New Democratic PartyAnn Chambers2,16117.617.6%
LiberalUjjal Dosanjh4,64237.737.7%
Green PartyCsaba Gulyas7285.95.9%
ConservativeWai Young4,72838.438.4%
Total number of valid votes:
12,311


______
8:37pm .....StealthCon is going down in Van Quadra! Former EarthWind&Fire Minister Murray will win.


LibertarianNorris Barens1240.60.6%
NDP-New Democratic PartyDavid Caplan1,5557.47.4%
Green PartyDan Grice1,7118.28.2%
ConservativeDeborah Meredith7,92537.837.8%
LiberalJoyce Murray9,66846.146.1%
Total number of valid votes:
20,983

Con-Stopping.... Lotusland's Last Chance

StratYourVote
AnybodyButCCRAPVille


The exercise in keeping things clear for the converted in the strategic voting sweepstates, which was posted on Monday the 13th, follows the Updates ....


______

LiveBloggin' The ConStoppin' Round-Up.....You can do no better than to stop in early at Laura's and catnip's.....As for LateNight Lotuslandian musings, even though they haven't explicitly announced it yet, I would expect that the good folks at the The Tyee will be at it again...
______

Triple -O Saucian Update: NDP says that Robo-Calling trying to jam ConStopping strategic voting in Saanich and the Islands is not coming from them.
______

Double-Secret Probation Update: Strat Voting Thrown Into Reverse In Saanich and the Islands? Say it ain't so!

______

Updating: The ever cautious (and very solid) Greg Morrow has the following final predictions for Lotuslandian Ridings that are 'Too Close With A Con To Call' : VanQuad....NorthVan.... SurreyNorth.....Richmond....NewtonNorthDelta...VanIsleNorth....Saanich...Esquimalt......And perhaps most importantly for those still fence-poll sitting on the issue of Strategic Voting, Mr Morrow has the Lib + Dipper as two more than the Cons....Thus, we are definitely in potential coalition-driven Stevie Shut-Out Territory here.... (link to Greg's final pdf)
_______



MustStrats (You Can STOP The Con)
Vancouver Quadra - This is a real nose holder; Greeniac Grice is good, but if you vote for him you will help elect the original Stealth-Con Meredith.....Therefore, if you want to Stop the Con you must vote for Lib Murray who is, unfortunately almost a LINO (the Dipper is way out of it here, don't waste that one).

WestVan-SunshineCoast-Resortatooie - This is important! The turncoat Greeniac Wilson cannot win, so don't waste a vote on him or the Dipper Forst because it's neck-and-neck between Con Weston and Lib Sutherland.....So this another nose holder where you must vote Lib if you want to Stop The Con.

Fleetwood-Port Kells - This is one where vote splitting could deliver it to the con of all Cons Grewal....I know the Dipper Fernando and the Green Newbold are both solid, but to Stop The Con you've gotta go with the Lib Locke (and she can win....last Nanos poll had Locke by a nose).

Newton-North Delta Forty - Super Scary....Con Pander with slight lead....Dipper Townsley may have a way, way outside chance but you've gotta go with the Lib Dhaliwhal to Stop the Con here.....and most importantly, do NOT waste one on the Greeniac Walker who is way, way out of it.

NewWest-Coquitlam - Dipper Black is still in lead, but it is not safe due to splitting....Thus, do NOT go with the Lib Hassen or Green Smith because to Stop The Con named Martin you must vote Dipper Black.

North Vancouver - Another split....stay away from Dipper Charrois and Greeniac Stephenson as neither can win.....To Stop The Con Saxton you must vote for the Lib Bell.

Pitt Meadows - Maple Syrup - Lay-Off the Lib Olson and the Greeniac Gildersleeve (despite the magnificent monicker) because if you do the Con Kamp can be stopped.....vote for the Dipper Bocking (he really has a decent shot - the others most definitely do NOT).

Richmond - Neither the Greeniac Wolfe nor the Dipper Jackaman can win, so do NOT vote for them because if you do the Con Wong might win.....You must go with the Lib Chan to Stop The Con (and don't stay home, because it's really, really close)

Saanich and The Isles - Look......If you are a Green and you want to Keep Nukes out of the Tar Sands must NOT vote for your man Lewis....and whatever you do, if you are a Dipper lay off your non-existent candidate because the Con Lunn can be beat if you vote for LibGreen Penn. Do not split the ticket on this one, OK?

Vancouver Island North - Vote Split Alert!!!!.....Greeniac Stone is a solid third but, like Lib 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.

Esquimalt - Juan de Frenchy Fuqua - I know the Dipper Burgis is solid and even has an outside shot, but the Con De Souza is way too close for comfort.....and whatever you do do NOT waste one on the Greeniac Gordon.....As I told my Dad this morning.....You've gotta go with the Lib Martin here.....you've just gotta....


MaybeStrats (You Might Stop The Con)
Burnaby-DoogieHowser - This one is a little bit scary.....It's been a see-saw between Dipper Siksay, who has a slight lead, and Lib Cunningham, but the Con Leung is within striking distance and the Greeniac Perry has a bunch of support.....So, my recommendation is to not waste one on the Greeniac.....and if you're a Lib who really wants to Stop the Con for sure, well this one should be a nose holder for you.....Vote the Dipper Siksay.

Burnaby-NewWest - Almost the same as Doogie Howser, but here the Dipper Julian has a reasonable and Poll-consistent lead on the Con Rakhra.....Still, to be safe, if you wanna Stop The Con for sure, do NOT waste a vote Lib Lenoski (currently way back in third) or Greeniac McLaren (solid 5K, but fading), neither of whom, obviously, can win.

Port Moody - Westwood - Polls are all over the place.....anywhere from Con Moore in a walk to Lib McKinnon havig a decent shot.....So, if everybody laid off Dipper Royer and non-NHLer Greeniac Brindamour the Lib could, maybe just maybe (but I doubt it), win......

North Surrey - The Dona Con is doomed if you lay off the Lib and the Greeniac (who cannot, I repeat, can Not win)....Go with the Dipper Arab who looks to have a Poll variable, but decent, lead in this one.

Nanaimo - Alberni - Dipper Martmaan has a slight chance to beat the Con Lunney, but only if everybody seriously lays off the Lib and the Greeniac (neither of whom has a snowball's chance in heckfire).

Nanaimo - Cowichan - Nanos gives Dipper Crowder a solid lead, but Decima is scary enough for Con Elley that I would suggest you lay off Lib Scott and especially Green Knighton (who is very solid third here, sorry, but I'm just calling them as I see 'em Thursday)..... If you want to be sure to Stop The Con in The Land Of The Disappearing Wood Fiber vote Dipper.

NoStrats (The Con Has No Chance)
Vancouver Centre - It looks like Lib Fry is pretty much a lock with the LINO-Con Mayencourt fading fast (ha!).....So, good guy Dipper Byers is a reasonably safe one if you feel you must vote your conscience here....Greeniac Carr also has a bunch of votes, so you could even go with Adriane if you feel you must give Lizzie et al. an extra buck seventy-five for next time around.

Vancouver Kingsway
- The Con Rayek cannot win (clearly we the people are now officially David E's worst nightmare).....Lib Yuan has a reasonable, but Poll variable lead on Dipper Davies who will be my vote here cause he could win with a surge.....Greeniac is way out of so if you are a progressive, well....Regardless, all consciences can rest easy here, at least in terms of Con-Stopping....

Vancouver South - Ujjal Doubles down, and maybe rakes in even more chips....errrrrr....votes .....you can vote for anybody you want in this one.

Victoria - Dipper Savoie is walking away with it.....safe to go Greeniac if you must....Lib is doomed (so much for Davey A's no-longer-vaunted, not-so-big-red-machine)....


Drats! (The Con Is In)
Delta-Richmond East - Pseudo StealthCon Cummins doubles down....a good place to go with the Greeniac Laine as he could come a solid third and earn the team bucks....Dipper Barna is way back....

Langley - The very bad Marky-Mark Maniacal Clone-Con wins going away (uggggghhhhh).....but Greeniac Meyer is solid - vote for him and give Lizzie money....

South Surrey - Whitebread - Con Hiebert can't lose, Green Blair has a good chunk of change and is neck-and-neck with unsupported Dipper Prontzos for third.....



_____
And one last thing.....if folks in way Right-Coast Central Nova can lay off the Dipper, Lizzie can win!

.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Never Mind The Bullocks......Here Come The Con-Stoppers!

WhereThePoliticsOfDestruction
MeanNothingVille


First things first....

Ignore the National Polls.

Because they are only telling us something we already know.

Which is that a ton of money, a million ads of total negativity, and all the Rovianism that fits mean pretty much nothing.

After all, if they did, mean anything I mean, two-thirds of Canadians would not be consistently telling the Poll-Mongers that they will not vote for Stephen Harper's rump-guarded Thatcherism b/w a dose of the Stupid that will, if it gets its trigger on the majority, bomb Canuckistan all the way back to the Stone Ages.


****

But never mind all that.

Because it is us, not the 3% that has been swung by the Siren's Song of the Stupid since January 2006, that has the power.

In other words, it is the Choir that has never been Converted that can stop the Cons.
And if one were to preach to that choir, which is what I am doing right now, the pitch would be the following:

All we have to do to do the stopping is is to vote strategically.

And the best place to learn how to do that is go here and look up your riding.
The information there is good and the advice is solid.

All we have to do is take it.

OK?

(will have a Lotuslandian, riding-by-riding, analysis of Con-Stopping Stratergies up tomorrow)


______
For those who might be fearful of StratVoting and all may entail, please see the Giant One's piece and Alison's too.
.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Between The Promise And The Reality Of America Stands.....

ARealStumpSpeech
WithoutTheWinkin'Blinkin'OrNoddin'Ville




.....The Boss.

And one thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheney's will not stop him from shrinking the distance between the two.

OK?



_____
I've wondered a bunch of times before if Mr. Springsteen strums as he tells his kids stories before bed. I think this pretty much answers that question......And in case you wondering if he still remembers when he learned 'how to make it sing'....well, there's always this.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

The Old Grey Globe.....She Ain't No Hollaback Rag

TheNoLongerEmpireMail
HitsVille


Remember when the Globe and Mail went after Heather Mallick with both barrels blazing earlier in the week because of her take on why the Republicans really chose Sarah Palin?

Well, just in case you've forgotten, especially given the fact that it was two real debates and a fake one with thought-bubbles ago, here's an excerpt:

"Try to imagine the CBC publishing a website column similar to the one its contributor Heather Mallick wrote attacking Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, but on Barack Obama. Instead of a grotesque attack on the supposed "porn star" look affected by a Republican woman, and a personal attack on her children, substitute a grotesque attack on the Democratic presidential candidate and family, linking his personal characteristics to sexual excess. It wouldn't - and shouldn't - happen. But then the Mallick column should have been out of bounds, too........"


Now, the Globe's editorial board is entitled to their opinion, but after the perspective that a few days (ie. an eternity in the bloggodome) provides, I thought it might be a worthwhile exercise to go back and re-read Ms. Mallick's original column to see if the Globe's opinion stands up to scrutiny.

First, regarding the supposed personal attack on Ms. Palin's children, here is what Ms. Mallick actually wrote:

Bristol has what is known in Britain as the look of the teen mum, the "pramface." Husband Todd looks like a roughneck; Track, heading off to Iraq, appears terrified.


Hmmmmm.......Stating that Ms. Palin's son "looks terrified"certainly is personal, but I'm not so sure it is an attack, particularly given how the Republicans have trumpeted his impending deployment to Iraq. And as for characterizing Ms. Palin's daughter as having "the look of a teen mum,", well, isn't that exactly how the McCain braintrust presented her to the entire world? Which leaves us with the term 'pram face', which, as noted by Ms. Mallick, means "teen mum" in a relatively perjorative-free way in Britain. So, while I do see the personal, I, personally, am still looking for the 'attack'. Unless, of course, you figure that Ms. Palin's husband Todd is one of the children, which would be unfair. Regardless, is calling someone who is a "snow machine racer" a "roughneck" an attack, personal or otherwise?

So, let's move on to the supposed "pornstar look affected" by a Republican woman who has a predeliction for "excess" reference.

Again, here are Ms. Mallick's actual words:

"Palin has a toned-down version of the porn actress look favoured by this decade's woman, the overtreated hair, puffy lips and permanently alarmed expression."


Hmmmmmmmmm.......once again......Do you see any specific linkage to 'Republican' women there? How about something about sexual excess?

Me, I don't see either.

What I do see, however, is a witty description of the look affected a goodly percentage of the Moms I see hanging around outside my youngest kid's school on any given day, not to mention the fact that it pretty much nails the look of every one of the female leads on, say, 'Desperate Housewives'.

Now, I would agree, however, with anyone who found Ms. Mallick's description of what should be done to keep one's teenaged daughter away from boys who write stuff like "I'm a f*ckin' redneck" on their Facebook page shocking.

But only from the perspective of someone who found was shocked to find himself agreeing with her.

Why?

Because I happen to have one.

A teenaged daughter, I mean.

But enough of all that, because what I found to be a core truth within Ms. Mallick's piece was the following:

"Palin was not a sure choice, not even for the stolidly Republican ladies branch of Citizens for a Tackier America. No, she isn't even female really. She's a type, and she comes in male form too."

And what 'type' is that exactly?

Well, if you had watched the Globe and Mail's homepage all week, it looks like it might be a type that can be used to titillate as well as to beckon and to call.

To wit:

(click image to enlarge)


But here's the thing.......

If you did click through the Globe's video picks 'beck and call' that was fronted by Mr. Palin's image on Wednesday, a full day-and-a-half before the non-debate debate, there was nothing behind the link that I could find that was actually about Ms. Palin.

Which suggests to me that the folks running the Globe's homepage were using Ms. Palin's 'type' to tart up their Old Grey Lady to sell more hits.

And in so doing it would appear that the Globe runners were themselves doing pretty much the same thing as the Republicans that picked Ms. Palin's 'type' in an effort to tart up their Grand Old Party to garner more hits from potential voters.

OK?



________
And as for anyone who is brazen enough to suggest that a little eyelash action just might be something more, well, I'm sure that Margaret Wente is ready to tear a strip off of you too.


.

Friday, October 03, 2008

The Attack Of The MutantLibCons!

TheRealConsequencesOfDe-RegulatingEverything?
PoliticalStemCellsGoneWildVille



Well.

I guess it had to happen.

After all, there are a lot of bizarre mutagens swirling around inside British Columbia's body politic these days.

And what is both bizarre and mutagenic sure can spawn some weird breeds, political or otherwise, particularly when the appropriate selection pressures are in play.

How else to explain the crazy mixed-up lawn sign phenotypes of the LINO candidate in the Provincial by-election riding of Vancouver Fairview that have suddenly started popping up all over?

They are both Lib Red (on top) and Big Con Blue (on the bottom).

Go figure.


_____
LINO = a strange made in British Columbia creature, most exemplified by Premier Gordon Campbell, which stands for 'Liberal In Name Only'.

.

Is The ROC Less Serious About Political Discourse Than Quebec?

WhichDebateWon?
PaulETicksVille


My question is not WHO won, but rather WHICH won.

As in which debate?

Because, after a pretty good show over in French on Mecredi, I thought the English debate on Thursday was pretty darned juvenile in comparison.

Puerile even.

I mean, take those questions from 'average' citizens......Please!

Really, just take 'em away......

Right now.

The Shed Guy? Give me a break???!!! (sorry Shed Guy - not you, specifically, but the way you and your question were portrayed....as Mark Leiren-Young over at the Tyee's live blog thread said, 'it was like one of those scenes in Law and Order where the witnesses are too busy to stop and talk to the cops'). And as for the young woman who doesn't want to vote? Well, I was waiting for somebody to holler at her to grow-up! (and actually, I kind of gained about half a nanogram of respect for Mr. Harper* when he kind of almost/sorta not quite suggest it).

Not to mention the ridiculous open-ended nature of said 'average Joe and Jose' questions.

And if the moderator, whose 'Are the Conservatives Barbarians?' thing was just pure stupid, had mentioned Palin/Biden one more time, I probably would have gouged my ears out.

Me, while I don't like pepper on my plate so much, I was ready to vote for Duceppe because he was the only consistently serious person there.

And where the heckfire was the 'De-Regulation of Everything' issue?.....Huh?.....I just don't get that absence, because it is reckless ideology fused with bad policy that is a concrete example of real, demonstrable damage caused by 2.754 years of a 'minority' Harper government, rather than all this ridiculous quibbling about whether or not the 'Arts' are good, gooder, or really more gooder (which, apparently, is when your kid takes piano lessons and/or likes to go to dance class)......Sheesh!

_______
*Which is nothing, really, compared to the 3,742 metric tons of disrespect that I have for him and his policies.


And as for M. Dion
and his total ineffectuality........One can only wonder if Lotusland's own, Mr. Marissen will soon have a lot to answer for over at the (notso)Big(anymore) Red Machine's Central Command Module (if it doesn't self-destruct first)......



.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Has Mr. Harper Been Dismissing The Wrong CMAJ Article?

ObfuscationForASelf-RegulatingNation
BloomingListeriaVille


Both my kids go to French immersion school.

Which is interesting, to say the least, on a whole lot of levels.

But that's a story for another day.

I only raise the point here because it is the one of the reasons I listened to last night's Leader's debate on Canuckstan's French Radio Network.

But when I heard Mr. Harper obfuscate, once again, on the issue of why listeria bacilli were allowed to bloom in a meat processing plant where Government inspectors had been removed due to a policy change instituted by his government I decided to go back and watch the English CBC's version of the debate, translated, to make sure I heard things correctly.

And I did.

****

What, you may be wondering, am I babbling on about this time?

Well, once again, Mr. Harper 'dismissed' a reference to the Editorial from the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) because it was, he intimated, based on the statements of a single anti-Conservative partisan.

Now, leaving the 'shoot the messenger' codswallop aside for the moment, there appears to something weird going on here.

Which is that the actual CMAJ Editorial, published on Sept 16th, and titled, 'Listeriosis Is The Least Of It' (link:pdf), was not authored by one person.

Instead, it was authored by seven people, including a number of deputy/associate editors as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the CMAJ.

And it does not rely on quotes from any one person to come to its conclusions, which are highly damning of Harper government policies regarding public health.

So.

What the heckfire is going on here?

Is Mr. Harper suggesting that the entire Editorial board of the CMAJ should be ignored, out of hand, because they are all a bunch of partisan conservative-hating hacks?

It's conceivable I guess, but pretty unlikely.

But what if Mr Harper was actually pulling a double-reverse obfuscatory/conflationary Spin-O-Rama while jumping from the high board in the piked position?

In other words, what if Mr. Harper was actually pretending to refer to the CMAJ's collectively written Editorial while actually referring to something quite different?

Well.......

It turns out that the CMAJ published another article on the very same day (ie. Sept 16th) that was written by a single author titled, "Shifting to food industry self-monitoring may be hazardous" (link:pdf).

This second article was most definitely NOT an Editorial. Instead, it was in the journal's 'News' section, and was likely written by a staffer. In the body of that article Bob Kingston, the president of the Agricultue Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada whose members include government meat inspectors, was heavily quoted as being critical of the Harper government's policies.

So, now do you see where I'm going?

Could it be that Mr. Harper was waving away the CMAJ's Editorial, which is extremely damning of his public health policies for many reasons, including the listerisis outbreak that has killed, and is still killing Canadians, by misdirecting us to the CMAJ's 'News' bit?

Probably only the unelected Co-Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada knows for sure.

However, this I do know - If any of the Opposition Leaders decide to raise this issue in tonight's English Language Debate, they cannot let this stand.

Thus, I recommend they quote, specifically, from the CMAJ's Editorial if they do raise the issue once again (which I believe they must).

And here are three recommended passages they could use (just in case there are any War Room Ops trolling the Interwebz looking for last minute material):

Passage #1:
Last November (2007) the Canadian government instituted a strategic review of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Among its outcomes was to transfer inspection duties for ready-to-eat meats from the government inspectors to the meat industry. Cabinet decided to “shift from full-time CFIA meat inspection presence to an oversight role, [thereby] allowing industry to implement food safety control programs and to manage key risks.”

In practice, the new policy meant that CFIA inspectors would rarely enter meat plants to test for bacteria and testing was left mostly to companies. Self-inspection came largely to substitute for, and not just to supplement, government inspection. Self-inspection mechanisms have worked effectively in other countries, but in Canada something went very wrong. One troubling sign is that even now, months after the policy change, the CFIA’s required sampling procedure remains under development.....


Passage 2:
"The listeriosis epidemic is a timely reminder that the Harper government has reversed much of the progress that previous governments made on governing for public health. Following the 2003 SARS epidemic and subsequent recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) was created and given its own minister in government— a direct line to the prime minister. But in 2006, among Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first acts was to eliminate the PHAC minister and public health’s seat at the Cabinet table. His government also left the chief medical officer of health within the ranks of the civil service, working under the minister of health. In so doing, it left our country without a national independent voice to speak out on public health issues, including providing visible leadership during this crisis...."

Passage 3:
"And listeriosis may be the least of it. The same November 2007 Cabinet decision that handed self-inspection to the owners of meat plants did the same for operators of animal feed mills and cut back the avian influenza preparedness program. Yet bad animal feed led to the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalitis (mad cow disease), and in an influenza pandemic tens of thousands of Canadians may die. Listeriosis pales in comparison. Overall, it would seem that, as a country, Canada is far less prepared now for epidemics than in the past......"


Again......

The policy change to remove government inspectors from the meat processing plant where listeria bloomed was Mr. Harper's and Mr. Harper's alone. Therefore, if he obfuscates again, as he did during last night's debate, and he is not held to account?

Well, and it pains me greatly to say this, Canada will get what it deserves.

OK?


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StealthCon LXXXVIII......There Can Be No Denying It Now

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_____________________
Update:

This Just In........As Bob tells us, LXXXVIII did show up for a Surrey North All Candidates' this morning on Global......Does This mean that Steve Darling is considered to be more of 'friendly' than the Cluffmaster Flash?.....
________________________



ScaredOfTheCluffmasterFlash?
SinkingInSliverVille


Well, when it was Bubble Boy and his Horseman who threw the Cone of Silence over her head and whisked her off to the Bunker, we were willing to give Dona Cadman a bit of a break.

But now there can be no doubt......she's been ducking interviews, both with National and some local media, but the last straw was yesterday morning when she refused to show up to an All-Candidate's debate moderated by Lotusland's biggest softball tosser Mr. Rick Cluff of CBC Radio One.

And for that, Ms. Cadman is now officially one of the StealthCon who walks among us.

______
Cathie has all the latest news on the abysmmal annals of the ThirdWave of StealthConnitude.

And we await Mr. Beer'NHockey's take on this one assuming, of course, that he can tear himself away from the Five and Sadahraru Oh pre-season Canuckleheads.

*Again, a StealthCon is a Harpertronic conservative candidate who ducks the media and especially the public. Their most egregious acts of stealthitude occur when they subvert democracy completely by refusing to show up at all candidates meetings where the voters, instead of watching ads on the TeeVee actually head out the door in an effort to find out, via their own eyes and ears, what they will (or will not) be voting for. We first became actutely aware of the StealthCons that walk among us during the invisible Mar 2008 by-election candidacy of Deborah Meredith in Vancouver Quadra. And here's the thing......Ms Meredith almost won. Thus, despite the jocular, snarkoleptic tone of these posts, this is no laughing matter.

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Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Canada's Chief Fact Checker....

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.....Lizzie May?

FrenchImmersionRules!

AllYourLinguists'RUsVille


From the French Language Leader's Debate......

May to Harper:

On Arts - 'You cut!'
On GST Cuts - 'The Howard Plan!
On Intensity Targets - 'That's Fraud!'


Heckfire.

Why is it that we don't make these people do this every night of the campaign?

Every.

Single.

Night.

And by the end, all of their crap would be ours.

To accept or reject as we choose.

OK?

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Why Would The Globe & Mail Do Such A Thing?

AllKindsOfSlaggingAndPilingOnGoin'Down
NoLongerEmpireVille



So.

Lots of folks around the Bloggodome are wondering why the Globe & Mail would go after Heather Mallick so hard, with bombast from Margaret Wente and an Editorial pile-on as well.

Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure.

But I think it is worth remembering that when Ms. Mallick left the very same Globe & Mail in late 2005 it was not because of something she did to them, but rather the other way around.

I wrote about it at the time, but the Divine Ms. Z had the real goods:

Heather Mallick gave up her Saturday Focus column at the Globe and Mail today because of a dispute over last week's piece.....

{snippety doo-dah}

As she (Ms. Mallick) emailed me (Ms. Zerbias) this afternoon (I added the links for those who want to understand the full context of her resignation.):

"My reason was that I had asked that a column be pulled last Friday and the Globe refused.

I had written a column on the Guardian's deplorable and grotesque libel of Noam Chomsky. The handling editor then said I had to repeat the libel. I said that it was libellous to repeat a libel, as any editor should know. I waited to see the final version (I had my editor's word that I always get to see a final version) and on Friday morning was horrified to find that the column had gone to the printer without my having seen it. I said pull it. The Globe refused.

My column runs Sundays on rabble.ca, a great website. I sent them my original version.

That's the dispute.

I am a great admirer of Prof. Chomsky. I think he is the modern Orwell and the moral point mattered a great deal to me, more than anything. Obviously."


OK?


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By the way: We're still collecting names for those who would like to be members of the Mallick Bloggodomic Syndicate which is explained here (just ignore the rousing rabble's rambunctious discussion).

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We Interrupt Our Programming For A Sporting Life Anecdote...

PlayerPianoKeys
Who'sOnFirstVille


So.

It was aging slugger Jim Thome who hit the big home run to put the Chi-Sox and the Cubbies into the same playoff for the first time since the last great Republican President of the United States stomped on the terra.

Which is kind of interesting, for me at least, because I talked to Thome, in a manner of speaking, very briefly once, up close and personal.

It was the summer of 1991 and he was then still an up-and-coming young cornerman with little power who was splitting his time between the Cleveland Schmindians and their Triple A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

And it was while he was playing for the Sky Sox that I talked to him.

Back than I was just finishing up gradual school, and because I went to a game at Nat Bailey Stadium with one of the old guys who'd taught me a thing or two over the years we bought good seats down low, right next to the visiting team's dugout.

It was a midweek daygame, so we had to skip time from the lab to take in the action in what was kind of like a very mild version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I forget the inning now, but I do remember that it was at one of those 2 or 3 critical points that come up in every ballgame and Thome was on deck......and as he fiddled with his wrist bands, he gazed past the screen that separated 'us from them' , looked right at us..... and said.....

"Sure must be nice to be sittin' there all afternoon watchin' us guys who work for a livin', huh?"

Then he spat tobacco juice, smiled, and walked toward the plate, bat in hand.

Can't remember what he did while he was up there (although I'm sure it's written down on an old scorecard somewhere in my piles), but I sure as heck never forgot what he said.

OK?

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