Monday, March 31, 2008
40 More Years in Afghanistan
Senator Romeo Dallaire spoke at Brock University this weekend. He addressed some of the issues around the Afghanistan mission. 40 years?
Liberals Quebec Problems on the Mend
Just because you think you can hide behind the mantra of being "an anonymous senior Liberal, close to the Leader", doesn't make it so. This is 10 months overdue.
Hint: when you are doing interviews with the press in front of many other Liberals and that same press publishes a derogatory Dion article the next day from an unnamed senior Liberal, chances are you are not anonymous. Anyhow, I was right when I called David Herle on this last week. I believe this sends a clear message to some other anonymous tipsters that it will no longer be condoned.
Bob Fife and Craig Oliver are smart guys. They get lots of scuttlebutt on The Hill. This Ignatieff story didn't have the legs they thought it would (Not yet anyway). But, to Michael's credit, the best defense is sometimes a good offense. Yesterday's interview on QP with Oliver was a smart, smart bit of offense.
As for today? Sacrificing a knight to save a king is not necessarily a bad thing in a tenuous game of chess.
Hint: when you are doing interviews with the press in front of many other Liberals and that same press publishes a derogatory Dion article the next day from an unnamed senior Liberal, chances are you are not anonymous. Anyhow, I was right when I called David Herle on this last week. I believe this sends a clear message to some other anonymous tipsters that it will no longer be condoned.
Bob Fife and Craig Oliver are smart guys. They get lots of scuttlebutt on The Hill. This Ignatieff story didn't have the legs they thought it would (Not yet anyway). But, to Michael's credit, the best defense is sometimes a good offense. Yesterday's interview on QP with Oliver was a smart, smart bit of offense.
As for today? Sacrificing a knight to save a king is not necessarily a bad thing in a tenuous game of chess.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Ignatieff on Fire and The NDP as Usual
Michael Ignatieff kicked off the show today on Question Period and was bang on. How do you dispel rumours? Take them head on and put them to bed. Michael did exactly that today. He confirms that there is work to do in Quebec, but that we are going to get it done, and we're gonna get it done together as a a team. Kudos to him. It's exactly what the rest of us on the team wanted and needed to hear.
Also on the show was Thomas Mulcair with Ralph Goodale and Peter Van Loan. That segment ended up in a pissing match between Goodale and Mulcair and Van Loan smiling like the Cheshire Cat. As usual the NDP had nothing to say about the Conservatives and strictly attacked the Liberal party. Somewhere, lost in all the yelling, was something to the effect of Mulcair proclaiming the NDP is poised to win three more seats.
As I wrote about last week, the people of Canada have realized this NDP party is becoming more and more irrelevant. They have to change the channel and actually develop another message. Much to the benefit of the Liberals and Greens, it appears they are not ready to do that.
Later in the show, L. Iain MacDonald was his usual anti-Dion self, proclaiming Mr. Dion dead on arrival once again. Throw in a little Jean Lapierre and voila the Liberals can't win more than 10 seats in Quebec. Really?
The one thing I was glad to hear was that Lapierre has, in fact, confirmed with many guests that were at the now much publicized Ignatieff fundraiser and that Mr. Iganaieff NEVER said the words: «M. Dion a été un très bon ministre, mais il n’a pas la stature d’un chef.». In fact, Lapierre goes on to state that he is told many in the room were uneasy with comments to that nature from the MC of the event. Again, it's more of what the members of the party were waiting to hear.
The only question left now, is are the rumours of the shadow cabinet shuffle true?
Also on the show was Thomas Mulcair with Ralph Goodale and Peter Van Loan. That segment ended up in a pissing match between Goodale and Mulcair and Van Loan smiling like the Cheshire Cat. As usual the NDP had nothing to say about the Conservatives and strictly attacked the Liberal party. Somewhere, lost in all the yelling, was something to the effect of Mulcair proclaiming the NDP is poised to win three more seats.
As I wrote about last week, the people of Canada have realized this NDP party is becoming more and more irrelevant. They have to change the channel and actually develop another message. Much to the benefit of the Liberals and Greens, it appears they are not ready to do that.
Later in the show, L. Iain MacDonald was his usual anti-Dion self, proclaiming Mr. Dion dead on arrival once again. Throw in a little Jean Lapierre and voila the Liberals can't win more than 10 seats in Quebec. Really?
The one thing I was glad to hear was that Lapierre has, in fact, confirmed with many guests that were at the now much publicized Ignatieff fundraiser and that Mr. Iganaieff NEVER said the words: «M. Dion a été un très bon ministre, mais il n’a pas la stature d’un chef.». In fact, Lapierre goes on to state that he is told many in the room were uneasy with comments to that nature from the MC of the event. Again, it's more of what the members of the party were waiting to hear.
The only question left now, is are the rumours of the shadow cabinet shuffle true?
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Mohamed Boudjenane Gets it Right
The head of the Canadian Arab Federation has some good, and true, advice for Stephane Dion and The Liberal Party of Canada. We should be backing his position me thinks.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Chantal Hebert: Not for Prime Time.
Today's column by Chantal Hebert in the Toronto Star is just another example of Ms. Hebert's personal bias against Liberal Leader Stephane DIon.
Since the Liberal Leadership race began, Hebert has been heaping the wrath of a decade's worth of soft-nationalist hatred onto Dion, who was the author to the Clarity Act and one of the strongest defenders of federalism in Quebec.
The result of Hebert's personal vendetta against Dion has been a weakening of the federalist argument in Quebec and has contributed to the unhinging of the Canadian federation due to the mostly uncontested Reform/Alliance/Conservative government of Jim Flaherty, John Baird and Stephen Harper and their provincialist and devolutionist goals.
The real question that readers of the Toronto Star and viewers of "At Issue" on The National on CBC need to be asking is where exactly is the line between opinion, commentary, editorial and propaganda? In my opinion, Ms. Hebert's columns have had more to do with projecting her own dislikes and desires and to moving forward her own agenda than they have had to do with reporting the facts. Her intent is obvious, she, like a number of the mealy-mouthed cretins like Pierre-Luc Bellerose are trying to undo the democratic and grassroots decision of the members of the Liberal Party to elect Stephane Dion as the Leader of the Party.
Ms. Hebert is in a position of responsibility and trust. Her two-year long personal campaign against Stephane Dion is no different than the attack media of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reiilly, and Sean Hannity of the US and their endless war against Bill and Hillary Clinton. This is not journalism. It is not editorial. It is not fair comment. Ms. Hebert is using her position of responsibility and trust to wage a personal war against Stephane Dion. As a result, she has lost all credibility and any semblance of objectivity.
The only beneficiaries of Ms. Hebert's actions will be the Quebec separatists who are being given convenient cover while they rebuild their crumbling organization and anachronistic pogroms and the Western Separatists headed by Stephen Harper who does not believe in a strong Canada and who is doing everything in his power (even under the constraints of a minority government) to strip the federal government of its ability to run programs and offer services to the Canadian people.
Naturally, missing in all the negative Dion press by the likes of Hebert, is the fact that the Conservatives have had to fire their Quebec Lieutenant, and have replaced him with none other than Conservative Cadman Scandal operative Doug Finley. Naturally, Ms. Hebert mentions nothing of Stephen Harper being a dead man walking in Quebec.
The Bloc was destroyed in the three by-elections last fall. after finishing second in Outremont lifetime, they disappeared off the face of the map in that riding, finishing third. Not to mention losing a seat in Roberval to the Conservatives. Did Hebert call Gilles Duceppe a dead man walking? Nope. She declared the by-elections a Liberal disaster instead.
Thank you Ms. Hebert, for helping with the dismantling of my country. You're doing all separatists a great service and when this country splinters, a day in your honour should be officially proclaimed in the two new capitols of Calgary and Quebec City.
Since the Liberal Leadership race began, Hebert has been heaping the wrath of a decade's worth of soft-nationalist hatred onto Dion, who was the author to the Clarity Act and one of the strongest defenders of federalism in Quebec.
The result of Hebert's personal vendetta against Dion has been a weakening of the federalist argument in Quebec and has contributed to the unhinging of the Canadian federation due to the mostly uncontested Reform/Alliance/Conservative government of Jim Flaherty, John Baird and Stephen Harper and their provincialist and devolutionist goals.
The real question that readers of the Toronto Star and viewers of "At Issue" on The National on CBC need to be asking is where exactly is the line between opinion, commentary, editorial and propaganda? In my opinion, Ms. Hebert's columns have had more to do with projecting her own dislikes and desires and to moving forward her own agenda than they have had to do with reporting the facts. Her intent is obvious, she, like a number of the mealy-mouthed cretins like Pierre-Luc Bellerose are trying to undo the democratic and grassroots decision of the members of the Liberal Party to elect Stephane Dion as the Leader of the Party.
Ms. Hebert is in a position of responsibility and trust. Her two-year long personal campaign against Stephane Dion is no different than the attack media of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reiilly, and Sean Hannity of the US and their endless war against Bill and Hillary Clinton. This is not journalism. It is not editorial. It is not fair comment. Ms. Hebert is using her position of responsibility and trust to wage a personal war against Stephane Dion. As a result, she has lost all credibility and any semblance of objectivity.
The only beneficiaries of Ms. Hebert's actions will be the Quebec separatists who are being given convenient cover while they rebuild their crumbling organization and anachronistic pogroms and the Western Separatists headed by Stephen Harper who does not believe in a strong Canada and who is doing everything in his power (even under the constraints of a minority government) to strip the federal government of its ability to run programs and offer services to the Canadian people.
Naturally, missing in all the negative Dion press by the likes of Hebert, is the fact that the Conservatives have had to fire their Quebec Lieutenant, and have replaced him with none other than Conservative Cadman Scandal operative Doug Finley. Naturally, Ms. Hebert mentions nothing of Stephen Harper being a dead man walking in Quebec.
The Bloc was destroyed in the three by-elections last fall. after finishing second in Outremont lifetime, they disappeared off the face of the map in that riding, finishing third. Not to mention losing a seat in Roberval to the Conservatives. Did Hebert call Gilles Duceppe a dead man walking? Nope. She declared the by-elections a Liberal disaster instead.
Thank you Ms. Hebert, for helping with the dismantling of my country. You're doing all separatists a great service and when this country splinters, a day in your honour should be officially proclaimed in the two new capitols of Calgary and Quebec City.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
It's All About Control
And nobody likes to control the message more than this stale Conservative government. What are they afraid of? We all know somebody in the govenment will embarass us there sooner or later.
Ignatieff: Et Tu, Brute?
UPDATE: Michael has issued a statement on the record. It is here.
It is these brutal slip of the tongues that caused Michael Ignatieff leadership in the first place. Yesterday my friend Bowie mused as to why Shiela Copps hates, hates, hates Michael (which she's never said). I believe it's because his little group of generals in Quebec have still refused to concede that there is a new leader in the party - and it's not Michael Ignatieff.
Most disturbing is that Shiela and others appear to have been right about their conspiracy theory of the Ignatieff team deliberately undermining the good health of the entire party for their own self-serving purpose.
Allow me to translate the passage below: "Mr. Dion was a very good minister, but he has no stature of a leader." - Michael Ignatieff
I'm not very impressed. Kady has the full conspiracy plot right here for ya.
André Noël et Vincent Marissal
La Presse
Au moment où Stéphane Dion fait face à une contestation de son leadership, Michael Ignatieff, son ancien rival et chef adjoint du Parti libéral du Canada, multiplie les rencontres privées et les activités de financement à Montréal.
Mardi soir, un cocktail privé organisé dans le luxueux appartement de Mark Bruneau, collecteur de fonds, donnant sur le Vieux-Port, lui a permis de recueillir entre 25 000 $ et 30 000 $. Un homme d’affaires libéral a indiqué à La Presse que le député Denis Coderre, qui était présent, lui avait demandé 1000 $ pour l’occasion.
Plusieurs personnalités étaient chez Mark Bruneau, dont plusieurs anciens partisans de Michael Ignatieff lors de la dernière course. Outre M. Coderre, l’ancien astronaute Marc Garneau, candidat du PLC dans Westmount-Ville Marie: «Je n’ai pas fait de chèque, a-t-il dit hier. J’y suis allé parce qu’on y trouvait plusieurs personnes habitant Westmount, et c’est le comté que je veux représenter.»
Les sénateurs Francis Fox et Dennis Dawson, tous deux proches de l’ancien
premier ministre Paul Martin, étaient aussi présents.
Hier matin, M. Coderre a nié qu’il avait sollicité des partisans libéraux. «Je n’ai pas sollicité personne, non. J’y suis allé, a-t-il dit. M. Ignatieff a des responsabilités comme candidat au leadership à l’époque, puis il a des dettes, puis il fait du financement pour payer ça, alors c’est tout à fait normal. Tous les candidats au leadership ramassent des fonds pour leurs propres dettes. Il y a la loi d’Élections Canada qui est claire concernant les dates butoirs. Alors chacun prend ses propres responsabilités, et c’est juste ça qu’il faut comprendre du cocktail d’hier (mardi) soir.»
John Enright, porte-parole d’Élections Canada, a souligné que les candidats à la course au leadership de 2006 ont jusqu’au 4 juin pour rembourser leurs dettes.
Celles de Stéphane Dion sont très importantes. Selon les chiffres officiels publiés sur le site d’Élections Canada, elles avoisinaient les 850 000 $ en juin dernier.
Des remboursements ont été faits depuis, a indiqué Jean-François Del Torchio, porte-parole de M. Dion, mais il ne pouvait pas préciser à combien s’élevait désormais la dette de son chef.
En juin dernier, la dette de M. Ignatieff, député de la circonscription ontarienne d’Etobicoke-Lakeshore, s’élevait à environ 750 000 $. De nombreuses activités de financement ont depuis permis de faire fondre passablement ce montant, qui devrait être complètement effacé en juin. Un partisan peut donner seulement 1100 $ par année à un candidat à la direction d’un parti. S’il en donne 1000 $ à M. Ignatieff, il en reste bien peu pour aider M. Dion à rembourser sa dette.
Hier soir, un autre cocktail de financement s’est tenu pour M. Ignatieff dans les bureaux du cabinet d’avocats Heenan Blaikie. Dans ce cas, les participants étaient sollicités pour 150 $.
Selon nos informations, les cocktails organisés cette semaine pour M. Ignatieff ont créé un certain malaise dans le parti. L’argent se fait rare pour le PLC au Québec. Puisant dans le même bassin de donateurs, les activités de ce genre n’améliorent pas les choses.
De plus, le moment choisi par les supporteurs de M. Ignatieff pour faire une démonstration de ses appuis au Québec est mal choisi, selon certains libéraux influents.
«Je ne suis pas allé aux cocktails de Michael parce que je pense que le timing est mauvais, a dit un militant sous le couvert de la confidentialité. Cela ne peut que renforcer l’impression répandue que le parti est en crise.»
Selon Richard Mimeau, vice-président du conseil d’administration du PLC au Québec, qui a aidé à organiser le cocktail, ce genre d’événements est normal et des cocktails semblables ont été organisés l’an dernier pour Stéphane Dion et Bob Rae.
La dette du chef libéral reste toutefois beaucoup plus lourde et ses activités de financement n’ont ni l’ampleur ni le lustre de celle de ses rivaux. Ce matin, dès 7h 30, M. Dion rencontre des militants libéraux à Saint-Lambert dans un petit-déjeuner à 100$ par personne.
Au-delà des activités de financement pour payer leur dette, les aspirants chefs ont aussi profité de la pause pascale à Ottawa pour réactiver leur réseau de campagne.
Entre ces cocktails, M. Ignatieff a eu des rencontres avec des militants qui avaient organisé sa campagne au leadership en 2006. Il leur a fait comprendre qu’il en avait assez d’attendre le départ de M. Dion et qu’il n’avait pas l’intention de rester dans l’ombre de Bob Rae, nouvellement élu aux Communes. Frustré, M. Ignatieff a laissé tombé dans une rencontre : «M. Dion a été un très bon ministre, mais il n’a pas la stature d’un chef.»
Bob Rae s’active lui aussi dans l’ombre. Sa situation financière est enviable. Selon les informations disponibles sur le site d’Élections Canada, il avait pu profiter de prêts totalisant 845 000 $, provenant presque uniquement de son frère John Rae, vice-président chez Power Corporation. En juin dernier, il avait remboursé 623 000 $ de ce montant, et n’avait aucune créance impayée.
Élu la semaine dernière lors d’élections partielles dans Toronto Centre, M. Rae fera bientôt une entrée remarquée à la Chambre des communes. Ancien premier ministre néo-démocrate de l’Ontario, âgé de bientôt 60 ans, il a récemment contacté des organisateurs et des stratèges, leur confiant qu’il n’était pas revenu en politique à son âge pour rester député de l’opposition.
It is these brutal slip of the tongues that caused Michael Ignatieff leadership in the first place. Yesterday my friend Bowie mused as to why Shiela Copps hates, hates, hates Michael (which she's never said). I believe it's because his little group of generals in Quebec have still refused to concede that there is a new leader in the party - and it's not Michael Ignatieff.
Most disturbing is that Shiela and others appear to have been right about their conspiracy theory of the Ignatieff team deliberately undermining the good health of the entire party for their own self-serving purpose.
Allow me to translate the passage below: "Mr. Dion was a very good minister, but he has no stature of a leader." - Michael Ignatieff
I'm not very impressed. Kady has the full conspiracy plot right here for ya.
André Noël et Vincent Marissal
La Presse
Au moment où Stéphane Dion fait face à une contestation de son leadership, Michael Ignatieff, son ancien rival et chef adjoint du Parti libéral du Canada, multiplie les rencontres privées et les activités de financement à Montréal.
Mardi soir, un cocktail privé organisé dans le luxueux appartement de Mark Bruneau, collecteur de fonds, donnant sur le Vieux-Port, lui a permis de recueillir entre 25 000 $ et 30 000 $. Un homme d’affaires libéral a indiqué à La Presse que le député Denis Coderre, qui était présent, lui avait demandé 1000 $ pour l’occasion.
Plusieurs personnalités étaient chez Mark Bruneau, dont plusieurs anciens partisans de Michael Ignatieff lors de la dernière course. Outre M. Coderre, l’ancien astronaute Marc Garneau, candidat du PLC dans Westmount-Ville Marie: «Je n’ai pas fait de chèque, a-t-il dit hier. J’y suis allé parce qu’on y trouvait plusieurs personnes habitant Westmount, et c’est le comté que je veux représenter.»
Les sénateurs Francis Fox et Dennis Dawson, tous deux proches de l’ancien
premier ministre Paul Martin, étaient aussi présents.
Hier matin, M. Coderre a nié qu’il avait sollicité des partisans libéraux. «Je n’ai pas sollicité personne, non. J’y suis allé, a-t-il dit. M. Ignatieff a des responsabilités comme candidat au leadership à l’époque, puis il a des dettes, puis il fait du financement pour payer ça, alors c’est tout à fait normal. Tous les candidats au leadership ramassent des fonds pour leurs propres dettes. Il y a la loi d’Élections Canada qui est claire concernant les dates butoirs. Alors chacun prend ses propres responsabilités, et c’est juste ça qu’il faut comprendre du cocktail d’hier (mardi) soir.»
John Enright, porte-parole d’Élections Canada, a souligné que les candidats à la course au leadership de 2006 ont jusqu’au 4 juin pour rembourser leurs dettes.
Celles de Stéphane Dion sont très importantes. Selon les chiffres officiels publiés sur le site d’Élections Canada, elles avoisinaient les 850 000 $ en juin dernier.
Des remboursements ont été faits depuis, a indiqué Jean-François Del Torchio, porte-parole de M. Dion, mais il ne pouvait pas préciser à combien s’élevait désormais la dette de son chef.
En juin dernier, la dette de M. Ignatieff, député de la circonscription ontarienne d’Etobicoke-Lakeshore, s’élevait à environ 750 000 $. De nombreuses activités de financement ont depuis permis de faire fondre passablement ce montant, qui devrait être complètement effacé en juin. Un partisan peut donner seulement 1100 $ par année à un candidat à la direction d’un parti. S’il en donne 1000 $ à M. Ignatieff, il en reste bien peu pour aider M. Dion à rembourser sa dette.
Hier soir, un autre cocktail de financement s’est tenu pour M. Ignatieff dans les bureaux du cabinet d’avocats Heenan Blaikie. Dans ce cas, les participants étaient sollicités pour 150 $.
Selon nos informations, les cocktails organisés cette semaine pour M. Ignatieff ont créé un certain malaise dans le parti. L’argent se fait rare pour le PLC au Québec. Puisant dans le même bassin de donateurs, les activités de ce genre n’améliorent pas les choses.
De plus, le moment choisi par les supporteurs de M. Ignatieff pour faire une démonstration de ses appuis au Québec est mal choisi, selon certains libéraux influents.
«Je ne suis pas allé aux cocktails de Michael parce que je pense que le timing est mauvais, a dit un militant sous le couvert de la confidentialité. Cela ne peut que renforcer l’impression répandue que le parti est en crise.»
Selon Richard Mimeau, vice-président du conseil d’administration du PLC au Québec, qui a aidé à organiser le cocktail, ce genre d’événements est normal et des cocktails semblables ont été organisés l’an dernier pour Stéphane Dion et Bob Rae.
La dette du chef libéral reste toutefois beaucoup plus lourde et ses activités de financement n’ont ni l’ampleur ni le lustre de celle de ses rivaux. Ce matin, dès 7h 30, M. Dion rencontre des militants libéraux à Saint-Lambert dans un petit-déjeuner à 100$ par personne.
Au-delà des activités de financement pour payer leur dette, les aspirants chefs ont aussi profité de la pause pascale à Ottawa pour réactiver leur réseau de campagne.
Entre ces cocktails, M. Ignatieff a eu des rencontres avec des militants qui avaient organisé sa campagne au leadership en 2006. Il leur a fait comprendre qu’il en avait assez d’attendre le départ de M. Dion et qu’il n’avait pas l’intention de rester dans l’ombre de Bob Rae, nouvellement élu aux Communes. Frustré, M. Ignatieff a laissé tombé dans une rencontre : «M. Dion a été un très bon ministre, mais il n’a pas la stature d’un chef.»
Bob Rae s’active lui aussi dans l’ombre. Sa situation financière est enviable. Selon les informations disponibles sur le site d’Élections Canada, il avait pu profiter de prêts totalisant 845 000 $, provenant presque uniquement de son frère John Rae, vice-président chez Power Corporation. En juin dernier, il avait remboursé 623 000 $ de ce montant, et n’avait aucune créance impayée.
Élu la semaine dernière lors d’élections partielles dans Toronto Centre, M. Rae fera bientôt une entrée remarquée à la Chambre des communes. Ancien premier ministre néo-démocrate de l’Ontario, âgé de bientôt 60 ans, il a récemment contacté des organisateurs et des stratèges, leur confiant qu’il n’était pas revenu en politique à son âge pour rester député de l’opposition.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
David Herle has a Solution for Quebec Liberals
David Herle, the master of party unity, has a suggestion for Quebec Liberals. Today on Politics with Don Newman, Mr. Herle says the best guy to put in charge of the Quebec Liberals is sitting on the sidelines. Who does David say that "best guy" is? None other than Denis Coderre.
Um. Newsflash David. Dion offered that position to M. Coderre. He turned it down. In fact David, it is my opinion that M. Coderre is partially responsible for the trainwreck now known as the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec). I firmly believe that he may even be one of those "senior liberals" or one of those "sitting MPs" commonly referred to by the press.
Anyway, that's not the solution David.
Um. Newsflash David. Dion offered that position to M. Coderre. He turned it down. In fact David, it is my opinion that M. Coderre is partially responsible for the trainwreck now known as the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec). I firmly believe that he may even be one of those "senior liberals" or one of those "sitting MPs" commonly referred to by the press.
Anyway, that's not the solution David.
Who Does this Guy Think he is?
...And who is his leader of choice? I can tell you one thing. I'd be revoking this guy's membership immediately if I was the leader.
And who are these riding presidents and sitting MPs. Don't be afraid. Name names man!!!
M. Bellerose I call on you to turn in your membership card!
Quebec Grits say they'll yank his membership if he doesn't resign
By MATHIEU BELANGER, SUN MEDIA
(Sun Media files)
MONTREAL -- Federal Liberals from Quebec will move to show Stephane Dion the door if he doesn't give up leadership of the party on his own, Sun Media has learned.
Former Liberal candidate Pierre-Luc Bellerose, who ran for the party in Joliette, northeast of Montreal, said dissatisfied members will begin the process to revoke Dion's party membership if he doesn't quit as Liberal leader.
He said his strategy is supported by a number of influential members of the party, along with a dozen riding association presidents and a few elected MPs from across Quebec.
Bellerose said he is convinced Dion has lost control over the party in Quebec and the organization is no longer following its leader.
The results of the March 17 byelections did nothing to appease discontent with Dion, he added.
"The pressure for him to resign is getting increasingly stronger," Bellerose explained. "The means we see to this end are drastic, but we hope that he'll get the message and leave of his own accord."
Should Dion fail to heed this warning, Bellerose has threatened to invoke Article 3.7.1 of the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal party's statutes and regulations to force him to resign.
The provisions of this article give the Quebec wing the right to strip a party member of his membership.
Dion would become the first Liberal subject to this rule, though Bellerose expects Dion's actual expulsion would be unlikely.
"This is more a question of sending a clear symbolic message," he said.
"Our main objective in putting this whole thing into motion is to unequivocally tell Mr. Dion that the Quebec troops are not backing him up."
On a short layover in Fredericton yesterday, Dion reiterated his trust in his Quebec organization.
He added that the Quebec wing of the party was ready to sway voters should an election be called this spring.
"Instead of being scared of losing, we must showcase our will to win. And we will win, united, in Quebec," Dion proclaimed.
POLITICAL SUICIDE
Yet Bellerose feels that would ultimately lead to political suicide.
"At this point in time, the Liberal Party of Canada can only rely on Ontario and the Maritimes to win over some votes. Membership is plummeting in Quebec, and some ridings wouldn't even have a Liberal candidate to vote for."
Bellerose said Dion would do everyone a favour by quitting the leadership within the next few weeks, which would allow the party to choose a new leader and regain strength over the summer to prepare for a potential fall election.
At times like these, I'd be tempted to invoke the Martinite rules.
And who are these riding presidents and sitting MPs. Don't be afraid. Name names man!!!
M. Bellerose I call on you to turn in your membership card!
Quebec Grits say they'll yank his membership if he doesn't resign
By MATHIEU BELANGER, SUN MEDIA
(Sun Media files)
MONTREAL -- Federal Liberals from Quebec will move to show Stephane Dion the door if he doesn't give up leadership of the party on his own, Sun Media has learned.
Former Liberal candidate Pierre-Luc Bellerose, who ran for the party in Joliette, northeast of Montreal, said dissatisfied members will begin the process to revoke Dion's party membership if he doesn't quit as Liberal leader.
He said his strategy is supported by a number of influential members of the party, along with a dozen riding association presidents and a few elected MPs from across Quebec.
Bellerose said he is convinced Dion has lost control over the party in Quebec and the organization is no longer following its leader.
The results of the March 17 byelections did nothing to appease discontent with Dion, he added.
"The pressure for him to resign is getting increasingly stronger," Bellerose explained. "The means we see to this end are drastic, but we hope that he'll get the message and leave of his own accord."
Should Dion fail to heed this warning, Bellerose has threatened to invoke Article 3.7.1 of the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal party's statutes and regulations to force him to resign.
The provisions of this article give the Quebec wing the right to strip a party member of his membership.
Dion would become the first Liberal subject to this rule, though Bellerose expects Dion's actual expulsion would be unlikely.
"This is more a question of sending a clear symbolic message," he said.
"Our main objective in putting this whole thing into motion is to unequivocally tell Mr. Dion that the Quebec troops are not backing him up."
On a short layover in Fredericton yesterday, Dion reiterated his trust in his Quebec organization.
He added that the Quebec wing of the party was ready to sway voters should an election be called this spring.
"Instead of being scared of losing, we must showcase our will to win. And we will win, united, in Quebec," Dion proclaimed.
POLITICAL SUICIDE
Yet Bellerose feels that would ultimately lead to political suicide.
"At this point in time, the Liberal Party of Canada can only rely on Ontario and the Maritimes to win over some votes. Membership is plummeting in Quebec, and some ridings wouldn't even have a Liberal candidate to vote for."
Bellerose said Dion would do everyone a favour by quitting the leadership within the next few weeks, which would allow the party to choose a new leader and regain strength over the summer to prepare for a potential fall election.
At times like these, I'd be tempted to invoke the Martinite rules.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Jim Flaherty to Supplant John Tory
With statements like these, Jim Flaherty is a natural to be the Provincial Conservative leader. Who does this guy think he is telling the McGuinty government what to put in their budget? The same guy that left Ontario with a $6 billion deficit when he left office.
Seriously. This country is in for a major financial crisis with this guy and this federal government at the helm.
Seriously. This country is in for a major financial crisis with this guy and this federal government at the helm.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Once in a Lifetime Day
Or, as some people have called it, Happy Easter.
Their are a couple of things we get to see that are once in a lifetime events. Cal Ripken Jr., Wayne Gretzky, Haley's Comet, you know, that sort of thing. Today happens to be one of those things we will never see again in our lifetime.
This is the earliest calendar day that Easter will fall on for the next 220 years or so. Why? Because Easter falls on the first sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. It just so happened that the first day of spring was March 20th, 2008 and the first full moon was the day after on March 21st, 2008. So, sticking with the rule the first sunday after the full moon, Easter lands at a very early March 23rd 2008. Don't think it will be even earlier next year because it will be the second sunday in April next year.
So, have a Happy Easter/Once in a lifetime day.
Their are a couple of things we get to see that are once in a lifetime events. Cal Ripken Jr., Wayne Gretzky, Haley's Comet, you know, that sort of thing. Today happens to be one of those things we will never see again in our lifetime.
This is the earliest calendar day that Easter will fall on for the next 220 years or so. Why? Because Easter falls on the first sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring. It just so happened that the first day of spring was March 20th, 2008 and the first full moon was the day after on March 21st, 2008. So, sticking with the rule the first sunday after the full moon, Easter lands at a very early March 23rd 2008. Don't think it will be even earlier next year because it will be the second sunday in April next year.
So, have a Happy Easter/Once in a lifetime day.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Power of Women
Here I am blogging live from the Women's Canadian Hockey League championship. It's only appropriate that this game is taking place at the POWERade Centre in Brampton Ontario.
You see, both teams in the final game - Mississauga and Brampton- are representatives from two cities that happen to have female mayors. I don't know if Hazel and Brampton mayor Susan Fennell have wager on the game, but it's been a rough and tumble affair. Miss is leading 3-2 at the end of two in case you're curious.
My theory about little girls supplanting little boys in minor hockey is alive and well. All the minor hockey games here today feature young women. By the hundreds they've come.
The game is important enough to bring out the likes of Barenaked Ladies drummers, councillors, CWHLers from across the nation and a couple thousnad fans.
This league is a must keep in my opinion. Let's halp insure it's longevity. Donate where possible and check out their website where they're livestreaming the game.
Update: Brampton won in overtime 4-3. What a game!
You see, both teams in the final game - Mississauga and Brampton- are representatives from two cities that happen to have female mayors. I don't know if Hazel and Brampton mayor Susan Fennell have wager on the game, but it's been a rough and tumble affair. Miss is leading 3-2 at the end of two in case you're curious.
My theory about little girls supplanting little boys in minor hockey is alive and well. All the minor hockey games here today feature young women. By the hundreds they've come.
The game is important enough to bring out the likes of Barenaked Ladies drummers, councillors, CWHLers from across the nation and a couple thousnad fans.
This league is a must keep in my opinion. Let's halp insure it's longevity. Donate where possible and check out their website where they're livestreaming the game.
Update: Brampton won in overtime 4-3. What a game!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Senior Liberals Ask Dion to Step Down: Duffy
WTF?
I wanna know who these senior f*cking Liberals are. And, I wanna know now!!!
And then CBC has this gem for us. It starts at 7:39. God we are brutal aren't we?
I wanna know who these senior f*cking Liberals are. And, I wanna know now!!!
And then CBC has this gem for us. It starts at 7:39. God we are brutal aren't we?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
My Two Cents on the By-Elections
Yadda. Yadda.
There are many theories, lots of spin and loads of partisanship out there in the MSM and blogworld about Monday's by-elections. I don't want to be long-winded about the elections, but as my title says, here's my two cents worth.
Alphabetically:
Desenthe-Missinippi-Churchill River
* Most of the entire blogworld, the Liberal Party and the MSM know how I felt about this riding before e-day. You can't tell riding membership who they are going to have as a candidate. It just doesn't make for good campaigning and it sure as hell isn't very democratic. Two more words to point to the problem -RALPH GOODALE.
* We didn't get out the vote. I suspect we had a group of people that chose to stay home.
*Solution - We need to rethink our policy for all of western Canada, and, as Bob Rae pointed out on Don Newman's show yesterday, engage more people. Engage Dippers, Greens and Progressive Conservatives. That would include David Orchard. Wouldn't it Bob?
Toronto Centre
* The team on the ground was solid. Bob didn't take too much for granted and hit the doors and the events.
* The percentage of popular vote rose from the previous election.
* All in all, proof that the LPC(O) and its members are alive and well and battle-ready.
Vancouver Quadra
* Oh boy. Talk about heart attacks! It would appear that some of us Liberals took that riding for granted.
* A loss here in Mark Marissen's backyard would have set off a very different set of conversations than the ones we are having today my friends.
* Again, we need a vision for western Canada. In BC we need to speak clearly and strongly about our environmental and aboriginal plans. Short of Kyoto and Kelowna, what is our new vision. Stephane has begun to hint at it with his carbon initiative.
Willowdale
* I was there for this one, so I guess I can say everything went to plan. Hundreds of willing and capable volunteers were out in full force to help Martha bring out the vote.
* Again, the Liberal Party is alive and well in Ontario. We were ready and we didn't take anything for granted.
* Martha increased the percentage of the popular vote over the 2006 figure.
* The Green Candidate beat the NDP candidate, signalling the fall of the NDP as a place to park a vote.
Overall:
*I can say that as Liberals in Ontario, we were quite satisfied with our brand Monday night.
*I feel Quadra is an alarm bell going off that we can't hit the snooze button on.
*Sask showed us that we can't be the party of yesterday and dictate who the best candidate is for grassroots Liberals in ridings. It's a democracy and in democracies we vote for our leaders.
*The Green party has set the tone for the NDP's next general campaign and signalled that the Dippers can't just attack Liberals anymore. It's getting them nowhere. My guess is the Dippers will lose 10 or more seats and be searching for a new leader after the next campaign.
*The Conservatives gained a seat. They can crow. They also learned about interfering with a candidate as they finished 4th in Toronto Centre. That's right. FOURTH. And in Willowdale they are still non-existent. A true signal that in the GTA CONS are nowhere near figuring it out yet. Throw that in with Flaherty ruining any other chances they may have had, and most of the 905 seats will come back Liberal in the general election.
*A big thank you to our four candidates. The Liberals ran 75% female candidates, and elected 66% of those, in this by-election. That fit in well with Stephane's plan I'd say.
The only question I guess that remains to be answered now is when is the next election?
There are many theories, lots of spin and loads of partisanship out there in the MSM and blogworld about Monday's by-elections. I don't want to be long-winded about the elections, but as my title says, here's my two cents worth.
Alphabetically:
Desenthe-Missinippi-Churchill River
* Most of the entire blogworld, the Liberal Party and the MSM know how I felt about this riding before e-day. You can't tell riding membership who they are going to have as a candidate. It just doesn't make for good campaigning and it sure as hell isn't very democratic. Two more words to point to the problem -RALPH GOODALE.
* We didn't get out the vote. I suspect we had a group of people that chose to stay home.
*Solution - We need to rethink our policy for all of western Canada, and, as Bob Rae pointed out on Don Newman's show yesterday, engage more people. Engage Dippers, Greens and Progressive Conservatives. That would include David Orchard. Wouldn't it Bob?
Toronto Centre
* The team on the ground was solid. Bob didn't take too much for granted and hit the doors and the events.
* The percentage of popular vote rose from the previous election.
* All in all, proof that the LPC(O) and its members are alive and well and battle-ready.
Vancouver Quadra
* Oh boy. Talk about heart attacks! It would appear that some of us Liberals took that riding for granted.
* A loss here in Mark Marissen's backyard would have set off a very different set of conversations than the ones we are having today my friends.
* Again, we need a vision for western Canada. In BC we need to speak clearly and strongly about our environmental and aboriginal plans. Short of Kyoto and Kelowna, what is our new vision. Stephane has begun to hint at it with his carbon initiative.
Willowdale
* I was there for this one, so I guess I can say everything went to plan. Hundreds of willing and capable volunteers were out in full force to help Martha bring out the vote.
* Again, the Liberal Party is alive and well in Ontario. We were ready and we didn't take anything for granted.
* Martha increased the percentage of the popular vote over the 2006 figure.
* The Green Candidate beat the NDP candidate, signalling the fall of the NDP as a place to park a vote.
Overall:
*I can say that as Liberals in Ontario, we were quite satisfied with our brand Monday night.
*I feel Quadra is an alarm bell going off that we can't hit the snooze button on.
*Sask showed us that we can't be the party of yesterday and dictate who the best candidate is for grassroots Liberals in ridings. It's a democracy and in democracies we vote for our leaders.
*The Green party has set the tone for the NDP's next general campaign and signalled that the Dippers can't just attack Liberals anymore. It's getting them nowhere. My guess is the Dippers will lose 10 or more seats and be searching for a new leader after the next campaign.
*The Conservatives gained a seat. They can crow. They also learned about interfering with a candidate as they finished 4th in Toronto Centre. That's right. FOURTH. And in Willowdale they are still non-existent. A true signal that in the GTA CONS are nowhere near figuring it out yet. Throw that in with Flaherty ruining any other chances they may have had, and most of the 905 seats will come back Liberal in the general election.
*A big thank you to our four candidates. The Liberals ran 75% female candidates, and elected 66% of those, in this by-election. That fit in well with Stephane's plan I'd say.
The only question I guess that remains to be answered now is when is the next election?
Monday, March 17, 2008
The End of a Legendary Era
This story should send some big alarm bells off to the financial community. Bear Stearns was no Mickey Mouse player.
Here's a question for you. Do you think Canada's sub-prime mortgage market is fairing any better?
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Liberals Sitting on Their Hands!
Bullshit!
Tomorrow has been chosen as the day for four by-elections by Stephen Harper. I guess he figured everyone in the country would be drinking green beer and wouldn't get off their butts to go vote.
Well, Liberal nation is decending on these four ridings tomorrow to get out the vote. This is where the buck stops Mr. Harper. Hundreds and thousands of Liberals are coming out to prove it.
The Badgers Win the Cup! The Badgers Win the Cup!!!
Against incredible odds, the Brock Men's Badgers have won the CIS national basketball championship! Congrats to all those hardworking men and coach Murray on their terrific victory.
Double congrats to Niagara Falls natives Rootes and Bianchin (winning basket). Simply, a legendary cinderella story of epic proportions! Wow. Good on ya boys!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Willowdale it is!!!
Monday will mark the beginning of Stephane Dion's climb to the seat of Prime Minister, with four by-elections taking place. For my part, I'll be in my old neighbourhood of Willowdale helping out Martha Hall Findlay.
Anyone needing a ride up should give me a buzz.
Anyone needing a ride up should give me a buzz.
The Kid Takes the Pole
Friday, March 14, 2008
Ashley's Profile Views hits 6.7 Million
That's up from 1.4 million two days ago. I wonder how much she'll get for her book deal/record deal/public engagements. That's a lot of traffic for a myspace site.
CTV offers up a brief history of political/sexual scandals.
CTV offers up a brief history of political/sexual scandals.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
What's Your Liberal Mission?
Naturally, I am writing this post in response to James Bowie's post, who, in turn, wrote his post in response to Jason Cherniak's post.
It should be noted that, although I'm not in agreement with Jason's post, I understand what he was trying to communicate. I have long been a voice that will not be stifled, both on my blog, and within the party. My favourite expression is "don't bring a knife to a gunfight"... and I seldom do.
Having said all that, I have said and written some things that are almost considered treasonous at times. I have written to sitting Liberal MPs and Senators to ensure that we continue to try and engage the true grassroots of the party. And, at times, those particular issues were not always easy to convey nor were they the most popular things to present.
Here are a couple of things I've done for, or offered to, the Liberal Party of Canada.
1. I continue to be an active member of the party, including being past president of my Federal riding executive, current president of the Provincial riding association and have been a delegate to all but one federal executive/AGM/national convention since 2004.
2. I am a consummate supporter of the party's youth wing and back them with support and/or donations as often as I can. Over the past two years we have seen the resurgence of youths clubs in my riding both federally and provincially - thanks in large part to youth like Sarah Earley.
3. I have flown/driven/car-pooled to campaign for perfect strangers running as candidates for the Liberal party. All on my own dime and all without being asked. Cases in point, Outremont and London. I have offered to help in Sask for Beatty on by-election eday and have yet to hear from a soul on that campaign - more than likely because I spoke out about the lack of due process in that riding.
4. I have maxed out my limits for donations to the party over the 2006 and 2007 calendar years and am certain that this year will not be an exception.
5. I continue to support the leader I chose to support at our last leadership convention and pray that he and Senator Poulin remember "tous ensemble" and what we promised to every member of this party at that convention.
6. I write this blog to be a voice for those that can't or won't stand up to be counted and to be a catalyst for change when change is needed. I feel that all Libloggers have a say in this party and should express their beliefs and disbeliefs whenever they please. Without speaking up or speaking out, we are all just lemmings.
Disclaimer: No offense meant to disparage lemmings, and I'm not saying all lemmings are Liberals. To imply that would be unfair to Conservative leaning lemmings.
It should be noted that, although I'm not in agreement with Jason's post, I understand what he was trying to communicate. I have long been a voice that will not be stifled, both on my blog, and within the party. My favourite expression is "don't bring a knife to a gunfight"... and I seldom do.
Having said all that, I have said and written some things that are almost considered treasonous at times. I have written to sitting Liberal MPs and Senators to ensure that we continue to try and engage the true grassroots of the party. And, at times, those particular issues were not always easy to convey nor were they the most popular things to present.
Here are a couple of things I've done for, or offered to, the Liberal Party of Canada.
1. I continue to be an active member of the party, including being past president of my Federal riding executive, current president of the Provincial riding association and have been a delegate to all but one federal executive/AGM/national convention since 2004.
2. I am a consummate supporter of the party's youth wing and back them with support and/or donations as often as I can. Over the past two years we have seen the resurgence of youths clubs in my riding both federally and provincially - thanks in large part to youth like Sarah Earley.
3. I have flown/driven/car-pooled to campaign for perfect strangers running as candidates for the Liberal party. All on my own dime and all without being asked. Cases in point, Outremont and London. I have offered to help in Sask for Beatty on by-election eday and have yet to hear from a soul on that campaign - more than likely because I spoke out about the lack of due process in that riding.
4. I have maxed out my limits for donations to the party over the 2006 and 2007 calendar years and am certain that this year will not be an exception.
5. I continue to support the leader I chose to support at our last leadership convention and pray that he and Senator Poulin remember "tous ensemble" and what we promised to every member of this party at that convention.
6. I write this blog to be a voice for those that can't or won't stand up to be counted and to be a catalyst for change when change is needed. I feel that all Libloggers have a say in this party and should express their beliefs and disbeliefs whenever they please. Without speaking up or speaking out, we are all just lemmings.
Disclaimer: No offense meant to disparage lemmings, and I'm not saying all lemmings are Liberals. To imply that would be unfair to Conservative leaning lemmings.
Duh...How Much did you Think a War Costs?
What do you think? Those LAVs grow on trees? Get used to the costs of war. We have three more years of it. Overspending by a billion? It's the cost of keeping democracy. Right?
What else could we have done with a billion dollars anyway? Oh yeah. Maybe an RESP tax break!
What else could we have done with a billion dollars anyway? Oh yeah. Maybe an RESP tax break!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Conservatives Hate Kids...Or Parents?
Having a 9 and an 11 year old and being a proud Liberal, I thought Dan McTeague's private member's bill was a stroke of genious. Apparently Flaherty doesn't agree.
THE BIG QUESTION IS: WILL THE LIBERALS SUPPORT THEIR OWN MEMBER'S BILL?
THE BIG QUESTION IS: WILL THE LIBERALS SUPPORT THEIR OWN MEMBER'S BILL?
Another Barack Obama Gaffe
Okay. When you think the tide might be turning and the MSM is going to start attacking you, the last person to piss off is a guy that has his own 5 day a week talk show on CNN.
Barack Obama attacking Lou Dobbs is a very very serious mistake!!! Dobbs calls on Obama to join him on his show.
Good Luck!!!
Barack Obama attacking Lou Dobbs is a very very serious mistake!!! Dobbs calls on Obama to join him on his show.
Good Luck!!!
Canadians Failing Canadians
First it was this young boy.
Then it was this guy from Alberta. (I did say his family would sue!)
And, now, there is this poor lady stuck in Mexico that, if not for guys like Dan Mcteague, would be rotting in jail until who knows when.
This stale, rotten Conservative government claims to be tough on the world stage, but sure isn't tough when it comes to bailing out Canadians abroad. What an embarrassment.
Then it was this guy from Alberta. (I did say his family would sue!)
And, now, there is this poor lady stuck in Mexico that, if not for guys like Dan Mcteague, would be rotting in jail until who knows when.
This stale, rotten Conservative government claims to be tough on the world stage, but sure isn't tough when it comes to bailing out Canadians abroad. What an embarrassment.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Media has Started to Turn on Obama
This CNN article suggests that Senator Obama wants all or nothing, and that he wouldn't even consider running as a Vice Presidential candidate. In fact, Obama is saying that he will be the nominee and he will decide who will be vice president. Tough to get that out of the title of the article though.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
GW Bush...The Ultimate Redneck...Torture is OK
Gee Dubya decided to veto a vote banning the CIA from waterboarding while interrogating suspected terrorists. Interesting comments from the soon-to-be-ex-president.
Conservatives Guilty of Doublespeak on NAFTA
No big surprise here I guess. David Emerson continues to embarrass Canada, the political system and himself.
Sidebar - Thank goodness the Liberal Party is not in the middle of an election campaign with all of these CONservative scandals!!
Secretly the Conservatives want to re-open NAFTA? Too bad we Liberals aren't running a NAFTA expert in Saskatchewan such as David Orchard. He might actually be able to advise the leader in a constructive manner.
Sidebar - Thank goodness the Liberal Party is not in the middle of an election campaign with all of these CONservative scandals!!
Secretly the Conservatives want to re-open NAFTA? Too bad we Liberals aren't running a NAFTA expert in Saskatchewan such as David Orchard. He might actually be able to advise the leader in a constructive manner.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Does Canada Owe Obama an Apology?
There are lots of arguments for the case that we, in fact, do owe Senator Obama an apology for meddling in his plan to abolish NAFTA, thereby causing his crushing loss in Ohio.
While I am in full agreement the PMO and the diplomatic corps should be examined for leaking documents, I'm not sure I agree that we owe the Democratic candidate an apology. After all, it IS Senator Obama making hay over NAFTA by suggesting he would re-examine the trade agreement, and, if necessary, abolish it. And, if his staff are saying the reverse of that to the Canadian government, isn't that talking out of both sides of your mouth and deceiving the American public.
The fact that Obama got caught screwing around with an international trade agreement for political gain is not a Canadian problem per se. The disturbing part of the whole story is the major leak in the PMO. The fact is we need to apologize to the United States of America for being less than diplomatic in the matter. The question as to whether or not we owe Senator Obama an apology is a matter that could be debated for years...especially if he is unsuccessful in his candidacy.
Is Hillary any less guilty of more of the same? Absolutely not. The Canadian government is guilty of one thing. They should have weighed in earlier and more often and asked all the campaigns what their real positions on NAFTA are.
While I am in full agreement the PMO and the diplomatic corps should be examined for leaking documents, I'm not sure I agree that we owe the Democratic candidate an apology. After all, it IS Senator Obama making hay over NAFTA by suggesting he would re-examine the trade agreement, and, if necessary, abolish it. And, if his staff are saying the reverse of that to the Canadian government, isn't that talking out of both sides of your mouth and deceiving the American public.
The fact that Obama got caught screwing around with an international trade agreement for political gain is not a Canadian problem per se. The disturbing part of the whole story is the major leak in the PMO. The fact is we need to apologize to the United States of America for being less than diplomatic in the matter. The question as to whether or not we owe Senator Obama an apology is a matter that could be debated for years...especially if he is unsuccessful in his candidacy.
Is Hillary any less guilty of more of the same? Absolutely not. The Canadian government is guilty of one thing. They should have weighed in earlier and more often and asked all the campaigns what their real positions on NAFTA are.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jack Layton's New Best Friend - LOU DOBBS!!!
Tonight Jack Layton appeared on the Lou Dobbs show. Lou feels Jack is "refreshing" and is glad to hear Canadian politics is a mess like the U.S. Jack tells Lou how NAFTA is destroying the manufacturing sector in Canada and in the U.S. and how we've had to deal with toxic toys from China because of it.
Imagine being a new friend to Lou Dobbs? Wow. This after Stephen Harper said he "liked Jack's question" in the HOC today.
Just When I Thought I Couldn't be More Embarrassed!
Along comes the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.
Let me guess what's next. We write a letter to the Ethics Committee asking them to investigate matters that Stephen Harper bribed us to vote for the CONservative budget?
Let me guess what's next. We write a letter to the Ethics Committee asking them to investigate matters that Stephen Harper bribed us to vote for the CONservative budget?
Another CONservative Scandal Nears Resolve???
NOT...But at least we won't be hindered by the Chair of the Committee any longer.
Opposition Removes Committee Chair to Stop Procedural Tricks Preventing
Investigation of the "In and Out" Scandal
OTTAWA-The three opposition parties united today to remove Conservative Procedure and House Affairs Committee Chair Gary Goodyear for abusinghis power to prevent a Parliamentary investigation into his party's alleged scheme to violate election spending limits during the 2006 federal election.
"For over six months now, on countless occasions, Mr. Goodyear has arbitrarily ignored parliamentary practice to help his party prevent an investigation into the 'in and out' scandal," said Liberal Whip Karen Redman.
"Elections Canada has refused to provide refunds to more than 60
Conservative candidates who improperly claimed national advertising expenses as local campaign expenses, contrary to the Elections Act. This could mean the Conservatives exceeded the legal spending limit in the last election by over $1 million. This is very serious and Canadians deserve answers."
The Conservative Party has been under investigation by the independent Elections Commissioner since last spring for allegedly funneling over $1.2 million in national advertising costs to regional candidates during the 2006 federal election in order to circumvent federal election spending limits.
In January, Elections Canada filed an affidavit pointing out examples of how Conservative candidates booked widely different amounts to claim expenses for the broadcast of the same national party ad. They indicated their concern that the scheme was designed to make use of unused local campaign
limits to book national expenses, rather than to fund actual local advertising.
The Liberals' call for Mr. Goodyear's resignation was echoed by Committee members from the NDP and Bloc Québécois.
"The Conservative government has literally written the book on how to disrupt democratic operations and grind parliamentary business to a halt," said Ms. Redman. "Since Mr. Goodyear continues to stubbornly follow the
Conservatives' obstructionist playbook, we had no choice but to remove him as Chair.
"We hope that newly elected Chair, Joe Preston, will allow for a workable environment which will allow that Committee to do meaningful work on behalf of Canadians."
Opposition Removes Committee Chair to Stop Procedural Tricks Preventing
Investigation of the "In and Out" Scandal
OTTAWA-The three opposition parties united today to remove Conservative Procedure and House Affairs Committee Chair Gary Goodyear for abusinghis power to prevent a Parliamentary investigation into his party's alleged scheme to violate election spending limits during the 2006 federal election.
"For over six months now, on countless occasions, Mr. Goodyear has arbitrarily ignored parliamentary practice to help his party prevent an investigation into the 'in and out' scandal," said Liberal Whip Karen Redman.
"Elections Canada has refused to provide refunds to more than 60
Conservative candidates who improperly claimed national advertising expenses as local campaign expenses, contrary to the Elections Act. This could mean the Conservatives exceeded the legal spending limit in the last election by over $1 million. This is very serious and Canadians deserve answers."
The Conservative Party has been under investigation by the independent Elections Commissioner since last spring for allegedly funneling over $1.2 million in national advertising costs to regional candidates during the 2006 federal election in order to circumvent federal election spending limits.
In January, Elections Canada filed an affidavit pointing out examples of how Conservative candidates booked widely different amounts to claim expenses for the broadcast of the same national party ad. They indicated their concern that the scheme was designed to make use of unused local campaign
limits to book national expenses, rather than to fund actual local advertising.
The Liberals' call for Mr. Goodyear's resignation was echoed by Committee members from the NDP and Bloc Québécois.
"The Conservative government has literally written the book on how to disrupt democratic operations and grind parliamentary business to a halt," said Ms. Redman. "Since Mr. Goodyear continues to stubbornly follow the
Conservatives' obstructionist playbook, we had no choice but to remove him as Chair.
"We hope that newly elected Chair, Joe Preston, will allow for a workable environment which will allow that Committee to do meaningful work on behalf of Canadians."
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
OYL Endorsements
If I had any kind of vote at the OYL AGM, Zac Spicer and Deep Chawla would be pretty high on my choice list. Vote Early! Vote Often!
Hillareeeeee. Hillaraaaaaah!
Hillareeee. Hillarahahahahah.
As I said before. This race is going all the way to Colorado in August.
As I said before. This race is going all the way to Colorado in August.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Harper Perpetuates His Own Scandal
Warren Kinsella's top ten commandments includes this one: "When in a hole, quit digging."
Harper lodging lawsuits against three Liberal Party MPs just accomplished what the Liberals themselves could not - "Harper" and the word "Bribery" have now come to be synonymous with each other.
Every MSM outlet now has Harper being accused of the dastardly deed. So what the average Joe or Jolene is hearing now is "Harper blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BRIBERY."
Nice.
This baby has legs and it's going to walk for a great loooooong distance.
In entirely unrelated news - Michael Fortier showed up to vote a whopping 5 times out of 34. Stellar!
Harper lodging lawsuits against three Liberal Party MPs just accomplished what the Liberals themselves could not - "Harper" and the word "Bribery" have now come to be synonymous with each other.
Every MSM outlet now has Harper being accused of the dastardly deed. So what the average Joe or Jolene is hearing now is "Harper blah blah blah blah blah blah blah BRIBERY."
Nice.
This baby has legs and it's going to walk for a great loooooong distance.
In entirely unrelated news - Michael Fortier showed up to vote a whopping 5 times out of 34. Stellar!
Monday, March 3, 2008
The Magnificent Seven
Those brave Liberals that dared to vote for our own amendment to the budget.
In other news....Kevin Taft's devastating results tonight bids him farewell as the Alberta Liberal Leader. Too bad really. The party worked very hard out there. Unlike John Tory though, Kevin actually kept his seat.
In other news....Kevin Taft's devastating results tonight bids him farewell as the Alberta Liberal Leader. Too bad really. The party worked very hard out there. Unlike John Tory though, Kevin actually kept his seat.
If Kevin Taft Loses Today it's Cause...
...of his Gilles Duceppe moment.
In Other Unrelated News....Rob Oliphant won the Don Valley nomination last night.
Um. Didn't I say he would?
Yep.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The NDP and Bloc are Full of Sh#t
If they weren't, they'd vote FOR the Liberal budget amendment. But they won't! And, finally, we can say Jack Layton is "propping up" this corrupt CONservative government.
Jack and Gilles can now run down the hill.
CON Scandal Won't Have Legs???
There are some people that think the newest Conswervative Scandal won't have any traction. Here's what I think:
Anytime you have a potential for scandal that involves the current National Director of Political Operations whose wife happens to be a sitting MP, the scandal should have legs.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The Winds of Election Swirl Again
If Liberals don't topple this rancid Conswervative government over this Cadman thing, they will be in the wilderness faaaaaar longer than 2009. How many times do you have to hit a beehive before the bees come out and chase you?
WTF are we waiting for? Two huge scandals aren't enough? One Conservative PM took money in envelopes in hotel rooms, and another Conservative PM bribed a sitting MP. Helllllooooooo!
Whatever Bob Rae wants to wait for is way beyond my grasp of what's going on in Ottawa. The Canadian public is sick and disgusted over the Cadman Affair. Bribes to a dying man in exchange for a chance at power is more of a story than the bullshit budget. It may even be bigger than the Mulroney Affair - which Harper is backing away from again. What a weasel he is!
Grow some balls people! The time is now!
To arms!!! TO ARMS!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
