I tend to do most of my thinking in the car on my nasty commute each morning.  And today, the first day of school, I had way more time to do that.  Summer’s over, if Toronto’s congested, construction-ridden highways are any indication. Michael Ignatieff has been Liberal leader for nearly two years and I still [...]

As a supporter of the long gun registry I would phrase it differently, but Matt Gurney in today's Post hits the mark when he says opposition to the registry is based on the view that it targets gun owners as likely criminals. The fact that the registry does no such thing is quite irrelevant to the politics. Support for or against the registry is a political test case based on perception and fears. Without recognizing this reality arguments about effectiveness, for example, are simply wasted effort.

You seem confused by the Harper government. Let me help you with that. If you want to know what possesses the Harperites, look south. The Harperites have infused the modern Conservative Party with the credit card conservatism of the U.S. Republican Party. Conservatives believe that if you blow vast amounts of cash on prisons and the military, while at the same time running up the debt by not cutting in other areas (except taxes which exacerbates the above trends), eventually the country will hit a wall, and the government as a player in the lives of citizens will have no choice but wither and die, for lack of funds. It is clearly the course of action preferred by this government and will continue whether or not there is a majority elected. I hope this helps to clear up your confusion.

The battle between supporters and opponents of Sun TV News – the Fox News style channel headed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former communications director Kory Teneycke – reached new heights when members of the ‘Fox News North’ team took issue with a growing online petition urging the CRTC to reject Quebecor’s (QMI) request to “make it mandatory for cable [...]

Alberta premier "Special Ed" Stelmach says he wants to get to the bottom of Tar Sands contamination of the surrounding watershed but that's hard to believe.   The Klein/Stelmach clown car has gone to great lengths to keep that very information from ever coming out.   But world-class hydrologist, the University of Alberta's David Schindler was one voice the Alberta Conservatives repeatedly failed to silence.It was Schindler's bulletproof research into the Tar Sands toxins oozing into the Athabasca watershed, scientific proof that drove a stake through the heart of nonsense from laughable government-funded agencies, that forced Stelmach's hand - leaving him nowhere to hide.Now Stelmach's fallback position is to let the scientists, experts like Schindler and his government's own bought and paid for stooges, sit down and talk it over.  Schindler's response was chilling:Schindler [said] that Stelmach's suggestion is "probably not a bad idea," but noted…

While I'm waiting...and waiting...for the iPhone to arrive in my hands, here's a little iPhone humour.H/T: iPhoneinCanada

    A post on the FP at kos today by Laurence Lewis, (AKA Turkana) points out the obvious about Labour day, and how the intent behind it is directly the opposite to Republican dogma. Of course, that also applies to the Harper Cons. They abhor Unions, they hate social safety nets. We have a Pee-Em who spent years of his life working for an organization that would love to kill the unions and Healthcare and all the other things that true Canadians think are basic human rights. The right to a living wage, the right to a safe workplace. The right to be seen by a Doctor and not have to go to the back of the line because of an inability to pay. The Corporate owned Government of Harper that would love to install the nanny state into the bedrooms and the uteruses of the nation does not want us to have any opportunities to climb the ladder. read more

I've been waiting for Atwood to respond to Kory's weasely attack on her character, and today she does so with eloquence and a renewed commitment to the petition to stop government funding for Fox News North.I immediately found myself jumped on by some of the Sun Boys and accused by them and others of “censorship,” lack of patriotism, supporting terrorists (???), and all kinds of other crimes and misdemeanors — leading to the conclusion that I was a Really Bad Person. I fully expect accusations of witchcraft and incense – sorry, incest – to follow, as with Marie Antoinette and Ann Boleyn. Next I’ll be told I was at a meeting I wasn’t at, saying things I didn’t say.Which is a fun way of deflecting public attention from the issues that ought to be being discussed. These seem to me to include a discussion of: a) whether or not Lawrence Martin, Linda McQuaig et al (see below) are lying about PM Harper’s mysterious off-the-record media-mogul special lunch – is that…

Ah, Labour Day. When times were tough for the Green and White, we'd use to say, "If we're only going to win one game this year, it better be against the Blue Bombers on Labour Day!" Well, we won yesterday. Barely. And the worst part of it all, it actually looked like they were trying to win.It is not as if the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a bad team. They've had some bad luck. Some bad management. But I believe their coach Paul LaPolice is one of the best. If only there were a few more good bounces coming Winnipeg's way, the Bombers could be 6 and 3.I've said it on other blogs and I'll say it officially now: something has to be done with the Saskatchewan play-calling. I was never a fan of Doug Berry when he was part of the Bomber squad and I'm not a fan of him now. If the Riders cannot sustain drives then, especially given their talent on paper, then I'm going to have to pin some of the blame on the offensive coordinator for not being able to access the opponent's D and exploit…

ANARCHIST THEORY: ANARCHIST THOUGHTS ON LABOUR DAY:It's 'Labour Day' in the anglosphere. Elsewhere most of the world ,and many in English speaking countries as well, celebrate May Day as the real Labour Day. Be that as it may here's an interesting and timely article from Linchpin. Linchpin is the site and magazine of the Ontario platformist group Common Cause. Unlike many of the self-congratulatory messages that will be coming forth today this article sees that there are indeed problems with the way labour is organized today, and it points to some possible solutions. I find little to disagree with in what follows though I have to admit that I haven't gone through it with my usual nit-picking comb. What is especially valuable is the suggestion that workers should form organizations seperate from but in sympathy with the unions. Well disposed union leaders may see this as a Godsend as it will "let them off the hook" for actions that are necessary but either outside the scope of…

I met the new Alberta Party provincial organizer Michael Walters for lunch last week for an update on what his party is planning in the lead up to their Annual General Meeting on October 2 and their policy conference on November 13 and 14 in Red Deer. Since they joined with the Renew Alberta group in [...]

"Conspiracy theories make the world seem a lot more rational." --Robert RobinsConspiracy theories, we are told, should be dismissed out of hand. They're closed delusional systems, so runs the conventional wisdom: self-proving and self-sustaining. Too many people are involved for them to be credible. Loose lips would have sunk those boatloads of conspirators long before their nefarious plans were ever consummated.From among the ranks of the literally thousands of people involved actively or passively in the alleged 9/11 fraud, the Great Obama Birth Certificate cover-up, or Zio-lizard enslavement plans, surely someone would have blown the gaff, given the game away, published a book and become very rich, etc.Agreed. But why has no one ever suspected, let alone realized, that there is a real conspiracy going on, right under our very noses--or, more accurately, a metaconspiracy?DawgNews has learned, after months of frisky and painstaking research, that a loose global network of…

Book burnings are cool

I first came across this book in 2003 or so when I was an employee at Crapters.  In August 2004, the store sent a bunch of us to Montreal on a Random House field trip to a fall preview, and at that event, they gave away a ton of books, and one I snapped up [...]

At some point, we all have to Face the Music. LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road.Wonder what they'll be asking him to sing around the great camp Fire On High - betcha it won't be "I'm Alive".

At some point, we all have to Face the Music. LONDON (Reuters) – A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.Cellist Mike Edwards, 62, died after the 600 kg (1,323 lb) bale rolled down a steep field in Devon, southern England, smashed through a hedge and careered on to the road.Wonder what

At least he drags out the tired, old Liberal scare tactics in his latest apologia of NDP tactics during the gun registry debate: Most activists in the NDP universe take a decisively pro-registry position. But the more thoughtful among them know that if their party misplays its cards, they could hand enough rural seats to Mr. Harper to give him his majority – ensuring the outcome they want to prevent. Vote for us, no matter what kind of shit we are shoving down your throats, or else Harper gets his majority. Well Brian, I rejected that kind of crap when it was on offer from the Liberals and I am going to reject it from you, too. I have no quarrel with reforming the registry, but that is not what is on offer here. If you vote with the Conservatives, they will kill the registry and salt the earth so it will cost another billion to restart the thing (and you know that will not happen). Your party is faced with a choice. I know it isn't fair, but then what is? You either stand with…

Just as it is enlightening to know the bias of a blog by reading its comments section (see Politico - claims it is fair and balanced but 90% of its commenters are conservative), you can always judge the state of bias in Canada's media by looking at the media aggregators like National Newswatch and Bourque.The latter makes no effort to hide its bias. Has the site ever not called the Liberal leader 'Iffy' while keeping a respectful tone with Harper? On the other hand, I have no idea of bias at National Newswatch. But it is very easy to pick up at that site on the leanings of our national media. Looking down the left 'Featured Ink' section, you will find Sun Media, National Post and Canwest as the almost exclusive owners of that real estate. An article or two from the G&M can usually be found as is the case of The Star but that is slim pickings indeed. It is wonderful indeed to see the Chronicle Herald pop up every once in awhile.This is not the fault of National…

she rests in beauty, originally uploaded by littlemisspatricia. Filed under: A Monday Moment, Art & Photography, Nature & Science

  The Alberta Government and the Big Oil companies are this transparent.......Really. Residents of this northern Alberta town oppose a provincial proposal to have the oilsands industry participate in a health study on cancer rates. Industry members would sit on the oversight committee managing the study, according to the proposal. Industry controlling all things,  It is a big problem in the US too. Industry doing "studies" that always seem to come out the way they want them to. Odd, that? read more