You Know You're Disunified When You Fink Out The Party Leader To The Cops

And that's what a number of Ontario Conservatives are attempting to do

Some party members were so frustrated at [John] Tory's leadership that they had been circulating copies of the Criminal Code of Canada, suggesting he was breaking the law by promising to try to find a job or other source of income for one of the PC caucus members so they would step aside for him.

It is an offence under Sec. 124 for anyone to “sell an appointment to or a resignation from an office,” or for anyone who “receives, gives or procures ... a reward, advantage or benefit of any kind as consideration ... to secure the appointment of any person to an office.”

I say, straight-up, that the Tories should keep the guy, for reasons I explain here. Short version: a "strong horse" ideologue from the back woods [R. Hillier, for example] will not win in Ontario for a long time, unless the economy collapses utterly and we all return to a state of Barbarianism. Best keep the moderate you've got.

Or don't, and Dalton will be in power until 2020. Wasn't there, after all, a Psycho IV?

Sheldon Johnston And The CHRC

Sheldon Johnston is the WTBA's Policy Chair. At the end of his CV, Mr. Johnston writes:

2003-2006 – Fought human rights case against the Canadian Forces for refusal of admittance as a Pentecostal Chaplain. I won the case before the Canadian Human Rights Commission on the grounds that the CF refused entrance to members of my church and under-represented other Pentecostal churches based upon discriminatory hiring policies. This groundbreaking case opened the doors for the induction of the first Muslim Chaplain to the CF, and changed the dynamics of chaplaincy in the CF to be more open and inclusive of religious minorities.

This is fascinating and quite encouraging for it, in one fell swoop, refutes the Speech Warrior contention that 1) Conservatives and/or Christians never employ the Canadian Human Rights system and that, 2) HRCs and HRTs are biased towards Conservatives and/or Christians. For more background, there is a good story on the early stages of Johnston's complaint in Christian Week from July 8, 2003.

Except that the only pertinent record that I can find in the CHRT archives would seem to contradict Mr. Johnson's claim to have won his case. From the decision (in which Mr. Johnson is referred to as The Complainant):

[33] The Complainant has thus ignored or failed to comply with numerous time limits set by the Tribunal in the present case. Based on the evidence before me, there is no reasonable excuse to explain the Complainant's late or non-existent compliance with all of these Tribunal directions. I cannot but infer that the Complainant has no interest in following through with his complain

[34] The Tribunal is entitled to protect its process from abuse brought on by this sort of wholesale disregard of time limits, which in this instance has rendered the case completely static for at least two years, an unreasonably long time. I therefore grant the Respondent's motion. The complaint is dismissed.

Furthermore, if you look at this decision, you will note that it is dated 2007/10/17. Even if there is more documentation that I have missed--if, for example, there is another complaint that Mr. Johnston filed and pursued to a successful conclusion--the decision emanating from this successful complaint would almost certainly have to have been issued after October 2007.

But the first Muslim Chaplain to join the CF was Suleyman Demiray, and he was welcomed into the service in late 2003. So it is very difficult to see how Mr. Johnston's complaint could have had any impact on this event.

h/t Buckets.

Michael Ignatieff: A Liberal Idealist With Neo-Conservative Impulses?

It being a slow news day, I have nothing to offer but this article on Iggy's foreign policy from Embassy Magazine. It offers nothing in the way of new information, but does go some way to explaining why many within the Liberal party view Ignatieff with discomfort.

Incidentally, of all the reasons to criticize Iggy's support the invasion of Iraq, one that doesn't get alot of play is the fact that he had already seen several years of things going wrong in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Empire Lite is an extended bitch against the same kind of mismanagement (nation building "on the cheap", he calls it) that has afflicted the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

One might argue that: fool me once, shame on you; fool me thrice, shame on me.

(Although as fodder for attack ads I think this stuff is mostly water lone gone under the bridge. I suspect now the line of attack will be his "installation" as Lib Leader, which won't work, and his status as an "intellectual", which might cut a little more sharply.)

More From WTBA Vice President Dan Doherty

Hello All

Because of various comments appearing on blogs I thought it would be prudent to answer some questions about me and my relationship with the WBTA.

In 2004, I ran for the Separation Party of Alberta in Calgary Shaw against Cindy Ady, in 2008, I ran for the Wildrose Alliance in the constituency of Highwood. I am a conservative who believes that liberal and conservative principles should co-exist in a spirit of bi-partisanship, hence strengthening and unifying democratic principals.

I joined the WBTA because I believe that Eastern Canada has marginalized the West politically for too many years. I have seen little change in the two decades that I have lived in Western Canada. I have however, heard many politicians from Eastern Canada express their desire to dismantle Western Canada’s economy vis-à-vis taxes (Stephan Dion Green Shift platform) and other schemes such as Cap and Trade (supported by Gilles Duceppe). I believe one must approach this from a balanced perspective. Any drastic shift either way will undoubtedly cause drastic effects in our economy. In the interests of keeping this entry short, I will not go into detail on this subject except to say I have and will always support better care of our environment.

The prospect of Western secession has both Conservative and Liberal overtones. From a Liberal perspective, the potential social programs we Westerners have compromised to support Eastern programs are staggering. I lived in Montreal for roughly 20 years and I am well aware of the social programs of Quebec.

A few weeks ago, CJAD in Montreal did a radio poll and one third of those Quebecer’s polled believe Quebec supports Western Canada including Alberta. My goal, put quite simply, is to open a dialog of what is BEST for Western Canada. Addressing this question in a candid forum is in everybody’s best interest. One question you could ask yourself now is, “If Western Canada were already a separate nation, would we be negotiating to become a part of Canada?”

In closing, the WBTA is NOT a political party; it is an association to gather support for a political party yet to be selected. I look forward to all your comments. You may email me at vp@itstimetogo.ca

Warmest Regards
Dan Doherty
VP Western Businesses & Taxpayers Association

Doherty On Slump

This letter is in response to the recent comments circulating regarding Ernie Slump. The Western Businesses and Taxpayers Association do not support any offensive remarks and or actions, particularly regarding ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. David Crutcher and our Council have contacted Ernie to provide him with a forum to explain his comments.

Our policy is one of inclusion and we deeply apologize to anyone this may have offended. I will keep you up to date of any new developments.

We greatly appreciate you bringing this to our attention and I look forward to any comments or questions you may have.

Warmest Regards
Dan Doherty
Vice President
Western Businesses & Taxpayers Association.
Email: vp@itstimetogo.ca

Background here and here.

Hell Freezes Over!

h/t

Power From Traffic, Redux

Another attempt at generating "green energy":

A new type of road being developed in Israel uses crystals embedded in the asphalt to turn the vibration caused by cars into electricity.

Engineers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology claim the piezoelectric crystals can produce up to 400 kilowatts from a 1-kilometre stretch of dual carriageway. The system is to be tested on a 100-metre stretch of road in northern Israel in January.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Many predict a massive shift to electric cars, and it may be the roads themselves that help provide some of the power needed.”

Well, I doubt this last bit, as converting the entire (for example) British road system to this technology would only generate enough power to drive 34,500 small cars. Still, any projects attempting to harvest and use waste energy are to be encouraged.

And this reminds me of a Centenial College experiment from a few years back in which students tried to determine whether wind generated by traffic on the 401 could power a turbine. It could not, unfortunately:

Average wind speeds over a year, recorded at a 30-metre height, are "right on the margins of what would make a wind project there feasible," said Herb Sinnock, a Centennial instructor who helped make the case for installing the device.

Though a turbine was not built in T.O., here's an artist's conception of what one might look like:

Cool huh? Mind you, if one got loose and started rolling East at 60 Mph...

Downturn Hard On Climate Change Deniers

Fred S. Singer is a 1st generation Denialists. In his hey-day, he advised Eisenhower on space developments and held that the moon Phobos was an artificial satellite launched by an ancient Martian race.

Later, Singer founded the Science & Environmental Policy Project(SEPP), from which the screen-cap above is taken. This group disputes the prevailing scientific views of climate change, ozone depletion, and secondhand smoke[1]

So why the unseemly cry for funds?

SEPP appears to have been Bushed in the meltdown and needs help. It will be amusing to see their 990 for 2008.

Eli Rabbit has, apparently, been following SEPP's financials for years now. If you're interested in how one of the most prominent denialists gets paid, click on the link above. It is an interesting read.

More From Ernie Slump, B.C. Chair For Western Business and Taxpayers Association

You've read about the WBTA's B.C. Chair Ernie Slump here and here. Well, it turns out Ernie is a bit peculiar even for a Western Separatist. For one thing, not all of B.C. is even being invited to the Western Separatist Party:

Guess what ! Greater Vancouver and the Island will not be a part of the New West ! Albertans hate that part of BC as much as they hate your part of the country [Ontario]. Too many free loading NDP'er's and socialists. ! ! ! And: Too many third world immigrants and refugees, the Liberals deliberately allowed into Canada and the west, to overwhelm and destroy the western Canadian Conservative vote.

For another thing, watch it if the yankees ever crash the place!

Someday the Americans may decide to invade the west. Should it happen while I am still alive, I would identify Liberal and NDP targets for the U.S.Marine sniper teams. I am a lot more pro-American than I am pro-Canadian...

Some rather conflicting loyalties here, I think. If the U.S. army ever invaded Edmonton, Ernie might be riding the lead tank!

Stockwell Day And The Underwear Of The Future

First off, ever notice those big billboards advertising a new line of men's briefs? Well, I don't think the guy who owns the business will mind me mentioning that he met with me to discuss his product. Let me tell you right away, he was not asking for taxpayer support for his item. We were discussing some marketing related issues. What impressed me was the fact that here we have a local guy, who had an innovative idea on how to upgrade a product that's been around since Adam needed 'cover'. The impressive part is that he got busy, put together an investment and now has employees working right here and in China.

Stockwell is almost certainly referring to "Saxx" brand underwear, designed by Kelowna businessman Trent Kitsch. Here's Trent describing the circumstances behind the birth of Saxx:

"Last summer, I was in Alaska, fishing with my dad, and my testicles were kind of stuck to my legs.... Most men can relate to that, so I started thinking of how I could redesign men‘s underwear to be more comfortable.”

And here's Trent discussing the product itself:

"They have a total interior, patented design,” he said, adding the material wicks moisture away from the wearer‘s skin and is antimicrobial.

“We also redesigned the pouch. A brief will push your package up into you. A boxer short will push it back between your legs.”

“We redesigned the whole apex point to allow your genitals to rest most naturally in front.

“It‘s a combination of all those things working together that has changed the game on underwear.”

And Stockwell's helping out with marketing issues?

How about: the official gaunch of the Canadian Government? Maybe he can even get the PM on board.

Stephen Harper: "I have felt so much more relaxed and conciliatory since I donned my new gaunch."

Get your own pair here (with picture and video gallery). They kind of resemble a more aerodynamic version of an Elizabethan cod-piece, so if you need a little help up front...

Comets Over Canada...Or Not?

I have written previously about Allen West's theory re a comet or other extraterrestrial object exploding over Canada 13,000 years ago and bringing an end to the Clovis Culture, triggering the Younger Dryas, and causing the extinction of the mammoth.

Well, science marches on. A new paper (Paleoindian demography and the extraterrestrial impact hypothesis) has appeared testing the first of these three conclusions:

The impact is also claimed to have caused major cultural changes and population decline among the Paleoindians. Here, we report a study in which ≈1,500 radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites in Canada and the United States were used to test the hypothesis that the ET resulted in population decline among the Paleoindians.

[...]

The results of the analyses were not consistent with the predictions of extraterrestrial impact hypothesis. No evidence of a population decline among the Paleoindians at 12,900 ± 100 calBP was found. Thus, minimally, the study suggests the extraterrestrial impact hypothesis should be amended.

Ah well. Pity. I am partial to any theories that involve stuff exploding in the sky.

And I know nobody reads these sciency-type posts. I still enjoy doing them, especially when writing about politics starts to make me feel unclean.

H/t Afarensis.

More WBTA Madness!

The Western Business and Taxpayers Association's emerging Executive Council is proving to be a colourful bunch...especially if that color is white!

B.C. Chair Ernie Slump, for example, has gone Craig Chandler one step further. Whereas Craig merely wants Liberals to doff their voting habits at the Alberta border and embrace Conservatism, Ernie would have us all dead!

Meanwhile, before Rural Membership Chair Glen Dundas got his current gig with the WBTA, he served as cheerleader for Doug Christie's Western Block Party. That's Doug Christie, defender of Ernst Zündel, Wolfgang Droege of the Heritage Front, and Paul Fromm.

Up the revolution, fellas! Right up!

h/t noonespecial.

And A Trucker Shall Set Them Free

Contra my post from earlier this morning, it looks as through The WBTA is rolling out some of the people on its Executive Council today.

A quick search tells me that B.C. chair Ernie Slump publishes Truckspeaker Magazine: The Voice of The Western Trucker, and was particularly incensed Western Separatist-wise at the appointment of Michaëlle Jean .

Jane Morgan tells me in the comments that:

[Glen] Dundas used to be with the SPA [Separation Party of Alberta]; then he went onto the Republic of Alberta, which seems to have morphed into the Republic of Western Canada.

So, the same old same old separatist crew?

Other names on the list at this moment include Dan Doherty and Sheldon Johnston, who I know nothing about.

Update: Mr. Crutcher tells me that the WTBA will encompass Manitoba.

BCLSB Exclusive: Delays At The WTBA

David Crutcher, Executive Director of the Western Business and Taxpayers Association (WBTA) has been in touch with me via email. I won't reproduce the exact contents, but I am assuming Mr. Crutcher is okay with the gist of his email becoming public. So here goes:

1) Due to website issues, the WTBA Executive Council will not be announced on until late Wednesday (Dec. 17). At that point, at least five of the positions, including Policy Chair, will have been filled.

2) The founding convention has been pushed back until April.

Mr. Crutcher claims almost 200 Members at this point and several $1,000s in funding. He also has invited sceptics like myself to debate the movement in a "serious manner". Once their white paper appears, I shall be happy to do so.

Until that time, there are a few scraps of interesting information in their "six point plan":

1) Create separatist network that will strengthen the businesses of separatists and help them prosper so they can in turn donate to groups like the Separation Party of Alberta and / or any other party that may come along in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

[...]

3) We will fund any and all who share our vision of a new nation.

[...]

6)Provide training in Campaign Management, Candidate Development, Fundraising, Media Training and more for those that want to organize for elected office or to promote the separation agenda across Western Canada or in their provinces specifically.

So: not a political party, but a network that would fund political parties. And note once again that Manitoba seems to be absent from their plans.

How Can We Compete When We Are Old?

Now, I wonder if the aged auto plant work force, decimated and demographically warped by seniority-based layoffs, might be part of the problem?

Federal government moves to bail-out the auto industry are correct for moral, if not economic reasons, but Bourrie raises a helluva a good point. And in any case a bail-out can at best only make the ride to the bottom a little bit easier for these people.

Stephen Taylor On Possible Senate Appointments

Because he's probably got as much insight as anyone (and of course we shall soon see):

Nancy Greene
Chief Clarence Louie
James Lee

And why not?

Has Western Separatist Leader Distanced Himself From Only Supporter?

I've written about the Western Business and Taxpayers Association (WBTA) several times here and here. This Western Separatist group consists of, at the moment, one confirmed member: old time Reform Party Stalwart David Crutcher.

Here's a screen cap of the WBTA's Executive Council from a couple of days ago:

Now, Buckets has also been keeping tabs these guys, and recently spied out another possible WTBA Member: Erik Gregson, another long time Reformer and associate of both Crutcher and Craig Chandler. Erik has been tasked with chairing WBTA's January convention and, since his email is policy@itstimetogo.ca, Buckets logically concluded that Mr. Gregson was slated for the position of "Policy Chair" on the WTBA Executive Council (note arrow above).

But wait! At the latest version of the WTBA EC page ,the position of policy chair has been entirely eliminated!!!

So are Crutcher and Gregson already on the outs? Has the nascent WBTA already begun to fragment along ideological lines--like who gets to be Supreme Commander on Tuesdays--or did they merely quarrel over who sits at the head of the official WTBA coffee table?

I'll be following this one closely in the days and weeks ahead.

As an aside, if you've ever wondered why these separatist groups tend to leave Manitoba out of their definition of The West, here is Mr. Crutcher on the topic:

Which division is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in?

David

And these guys wanted a separate Alberta to have its own fleet of nuclear submarines.

Ah But You See Now Real Money Is Involved

To their credit, the Harper government has largely (wholly?) ignored calls from its political base to repeal Section 13 of the CHRA. However, it didn't take long for them to indicate their displeasure with the BCHRT's decision re Construction and Specialized Workers' Union Local 1611 obo Foreign Workers v. SELI Canada, in which foreign workers were judged to have been

...given inferior accommodation, denied any choice about what to eat . . . [and] worked side by side with Europeans who were paid substantially more than they were for performing substantially the same work.

On the Dec 14th, Jason Kenney said:

“I am very concerned by the recent decision of the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal regarding wages for temporary foreign workers, particularly in light of the fact that these workers were being compensated at the same level as Canadian workers, and had voted to decertify the union that filed the complaint."

A rather complex ruling, and I admit to having only skimmed the thing so far, but its clear that even this brief statement contains a number of distortions. For one thing, the complaint was in regards to the wages of a number of South American workers vs. their European counterparts (Seli being an Italian company that digs tunnels all over the planet), not vs. home-grown Vancouver workers.

For another, while it is true that a number of the complainants voted to no longer be represented by their union, this vote, arranged by the company, was itself judged to be a retaliatory act against the complainants:

The crux of the Union’s retaliation complaint is a petition which the Employer presented to members of the Complainant Group for signature. It was written in Spanish. Translated, it says: “I no longer wish the Union to represent me before the Human Rights Tribunal.” (para. 21)

The result: $10,000 for each employee, an appeal by Seli Canada, and a bit of finger-wagging by the federal government.

H/t Shotgun Blog.

"Pulpit And Politics" For Best Religious Blog

Ex-NDP MP Dennis Gruending has been writing "Pulpit and Politics" for just over a year now. He is now up for a 2008 Canadian Blog Award in the category of Best Religious-Philosophy blog, and has indeed reached the final round. The title pretty much says it all: Mr. Gruending examines the intersection of Canadian politics and both right and left wing political movements. Level-headed, scholarly, but always a good read. When the final round opens, he's got my vote.

Your Daily Nazi: Pro-Nazi Bias At The Calgary Herald?

Harry Abrams weighs in on the Bill White Case:

Dear Editor,

Re: Death threats cannot be protected speech, December 14,


Whereas I appreciate the point that the commenter wishes to make, namely that speech calling for violence is abusive; this article abrogates the basic ethics of journalism by quoting a defendant's assertion given at a human rights hearingthat has never been settled.

Here is the phrase: "...the defence suggested Warman--a former CHRC employee--was among those who would post provocative messages to the site using fake identities, in the hope of entrapping other site users..."

Even though described as the "defendant's suggestion at hearing" this kind of quote causes the[...] newspaper to side in an as yet unsettled legal dispute. I certainly hope that the newspaper doesn't interfere with or make pronouncements on other legal proceedings in the same way.

I think Harry might have got the newspaper in question wrong, which is why the quick edit above. But otherwise he catches what is at the minimum some exceedingly shoddy reporting out of...you guessed it...CanWest.

Just for clarity, here's an expanded version of the quote he mentions:

During a CHRC tribunal considering the activities of Canadian website operator Marc Lemire, the defence suggested Warman--a former CHRC employee-- was among those who would post provocative messages to the site using fake identities, in the hope of entrapping other site users.

Memorializing Them In Shitty Prose

These three soldiers, killed by an improvised explosive device, are sadly part of the 103 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

From the National Post. Say no more.

No, Virginia...

I first wrote this in December, 2006, and have decided to repost it every year until it becomes as famous as the editorial on which it is based.

No Virginia, Its All Bullshit!

In December of 1897, sad little Virgnia O'Hanlon wrote to The New York Sun as follows:

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

To which chief editor Francis P. Church replied with a now very famous editorial called, "Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus". In the spirit of the season, I will reproduce that editorial here, with some of my own comments to little Miss O'Hanlon interspersed:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong.

They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Virginia, your letter wound-up on the desk of a gouty old fart desperately nostalgic for The Good Old Days which, believe me, existed only in his mind. You think kids back in 1897 were bad? You should see 'em now! A more useless gang of pimple face punks has never afflicted the Earth's surface! They've got green hair, rings through their noses, and they shave their chests and carry 9 mms and smoke crystal meth! Frankly, you and Mr. Church had it easy! He should quit bitching.

Also, Mr. Church works for The Sun, so he's what your father would probably have called a soak, and what in my day we call a lush bucket. This piece of drivel probably got hacked out between bottles of cheap whiskey. Rot-gut liquor has been the source of more bad rhetoric than War and Love combined.

And furthermore, what is this "intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth" supposed to be? Looks like your dear editor was using his newspaper to proselytize some version of the Christian Religion at you. These days things such a thing wouldn't fly. A word to the Feds and we could have God-Boy's ass fired so hard out the door that he wouldn't land until next Xmas.

Anyway, Mr. Church keeps on editorializing:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

What are these... THREATS? If Santa isn't real, Poetry will disappear? The Lights will go out? Holy shit, in my day if some old guy started feeding a little girl like you such a dose of baloney, they'd slap a restraining order on him!

And what's this about there being no Virginias if kids don't believe in Santa? There wouldn't be a North or South Virginia in the first place if Whitey assholes like Mr. Church hadn't come ashore and slaughtered the peaceful Kis'muk'ti-tuk Indians who were already living there! And what's Santa Claus got to do with any of that? Is Mr. Church insinuating that Santa was leading the charge against the Indian villages in his sleigh, innocent Abo kids impaled on the steel-edged antlers of his robotic rain-deer?

This guy kills me! But he's just warming up:

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies.... The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

Kid, you've hooked a serious nutter. Believe me, you can take full pleasure in your lawn without worrying about inadvertently trampling dancing fairies. And if by any chance you do manage to squash one, I hear they're damn good eating.

But seriously, there are many unseen and unseeable things in the world, like Debt and Remorse and Poison Gases and cancer-causing Gamma Radiation from The Sun. However, Fairies ARE NOT AMONG THEM!

If this Church fellow has any knowledge of Fairies, its because there's one fluttering in and out of that whiskey bottle he's been sucking on. Yeah, Virginia, these days we've got a word for his kind of fairies: delirious tremblins, we call 'em.

But wait...There's More!

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart.

Kid, don't tear apart any baby rattles. That would be cruel. Besides, there's just this little plastic bean thing that bounces around inside making the sound. It's no big mystery. Leave your little brother's toys alone. He'll cry.

Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.

Magic mushrooms do the same trick. They can also convince you that jam bands like Phish or the Grateful Dead don't suck. But that wears off.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Okay, little sister, here's how Xmas really works. Capitalist society has trained your parents to drool like Pavlov's dog at the sight of a fat guy in a red suit. So, believe The Hype or not, you're going to get piles of gifts at exactly the same time every year. Your folks can't help it, and you couldn't stop them if you wanted to.

And the gift getting part is all that should really matter, for deep down Xmas a time of getting, getting all you can when the getting's good. When you become older and start buying gifts of your own, you'll realize the truth of what I'm saying. Then you'll understand that if the total amount of money you spend on gifts is less than the total amount of the gifts you get, you've WON Xmas!

...and that is a terrific feeling. And Santa's got nothing to do with it.

No Effect

From James Annan, climate scientist:

Do solar/heliospheric changes affect the earth's climate?

That was the title of the keynote talk at a workshop held here last week. To save you the trouble of reading any further, I should just say now that the answer provided was "no, at least not to any significant extent since the middle of last century".

I may play around later with Inhofe's updated (650 scientists!) list of deniers. But one of the new names on the list is Oliver "Iron Sun" Manuel, who I have previously written about here.

Miracle: Image Of Virgin Mary Appears On Magazine Cover!

Does this picture make you feel all Xmas-y? It makes me feel all Xmas-y?

Iggy Makes Good

...or at least makes for good polling results:

OTTAWA–Newly appointed Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is in a virtual tie with Prime Minister Stephen Harper as the person Canadians think would be the best to lead the country, a new poll exclusive to the Star reveals.

Frankly, I've never put much money on the leadership numbers. Lets cut straight to the chase:

The survey also shows the Liberals rise to 31 per cent in voting intentions – an increase of nine percentage points since earlier this month, and the Conservatives drop five percentage points to 37 per cent in the same period.

Hmm. About where it always is. But at least the Tories are out of Majority territory. The post-Coalition upward blip was just that. An adrenalin fuelled "rally round the flag" effect. Hopefully, this new result will keep Harper and Co. from getting too uppity in their Jan. budget.

Here is the most interesting result, however:

The NDP was the choice of 15 per cent of respondents – down three percentage points...

Looks like all that coalition talk really turned their supporters off.

So, not a bad start. Mind you, here's an IPSOS poll to keep you humble.

Your Daily Nazi: Warman And Farber Fight 'Em, While Speechys Ponder Their Very Existence

American Neo-Nazi Bill White is being charged with making death threats, based on the testimony of Canuck Nazi hunters Bernie Farber and Richard Warman. Good news, made weird by the strange role Mr. White has played in the on-going Canadian Speechy Wars.

You see, back in April free speech warrior Ezra Levant publicly questioned Mr. White's very existence, instead theorizing that he might be a CHRC sock-puppet:

I, too, would have believed that the CHRC's Ian Fine received the bigoted e-mails he describes, and I even would have believed that Richard Warman was threatened by a man in the U.S. named Bill White.

[...]

But after last month's day-long hearing, where we learned that the CHRC regularly confects such bigoted comments themselves and goes to great (and sometimes illegal) lengths to hide their tracks, I just can't take any claims from the CHRC or Warman seriously that rely on Internet comments, the provenance of which cannot be independently verified.

And the "Bill White" Internet site -- well, let's just say that Mr. White, who has never been seen in body, only online, has come in handy on quite a few occasions for the CHRC and Warman, such as when Warman and the Canadian Jewish Congress tried to get the Canadian government to permit them to block foreign websites from Canadian Internet users.

[...]

It may well be that the e-mails to Fine were sent by someone other than his own staff. And it may well be that there is somebody named Bill White who is not just another sock puppet for Warman, Dean Steacy and others. It could be. And, with any other group of people, that would be the normal thing to assume. But we're long past the point where the CHRC can be regarded as normal, and where their statements -- even under oath -- can be believed without independent verification.

The madness continued unabated--Nay! was cranked to 11 on the crazy-scale--in Ezra's comments section. For example, Connie Fournier from FreeDominion showed up:

The thing about Bill White is that even the people who proudly call themselves 'Nazis' or 'white nationalists' seem to think he is about as genuine as Grant Bristow.

Ezra is 100% correct when he says we can't believe anything our opponents say anymore.

Then suspected Lemire sock-puppet Fourhorses made an appearance! Eventually, the whole gang arrived!

Nor was the mood of cheerful paranoia spoiled when Mr. White himself crashed the party:

I know, Jew Levant, that when you look upon a God, you see only the radiant light of a soul you know you can never possess.

However, I assure you, I am not merely an ethereal apparition of the God of the Light and Order, opposed eternally to your race of demons, but I have material form as well.

A brief search of Google will yield plenty of photographs and news accounts of my actual presence among men.

(As an aside, give Mr. White credit: this guy knows how to hate. Shaidle, MacMillan and their crew-- they're nothing but wannabes next to him)

No, they didn't let Bill White get them down at Ezra's place, because they figured it couldn't be a real Neo-Nazi writing this stuff, it had to be...wait for it...Richard Warman pretending to be a Neo-Nazi so as to...somehow...infiltrate...well, at this point things get a bit obscure.

In any case, that's how bent this debate has become, when the Speechy movement goes beyond arguing that no limitations on expression are justified in stopping the spread of Neo-Nazis, to denying that they have corporeal being.

News Release To Nowhere

Ezra's latest Canada News Wire effort gets as much coverage as his previous. Which is to say: doodley squat.

Another $500 down the tubes. So keep those pay-pal donations coming!

Who Said That?

A senate chair should be occupied by someone with a democratic mandate, and Canadians should be able to mark their ballot for their Senator, as well as for their MP. We need a ballot with senators' names, and seats with senators that have been elected. Under a Conservative government, Canadians will choose who sits in this chair. In the 21st century, those who want to sit in the parliament of a democratic state should have a mandate from the people.The Prime Minister currently holds a virtually free hand in the selection of Senators. As Prime Minister I will use that power to establish a federal process for electing senators.

Probably the same guy who said this:

"In Canada, Senators remain appointed, not elected," he said. "They don't have to retire until age 75, and may warm their seats for as long as 45 years. By the nature of the system, they're not accountable to voters."

Lets be clear: Harper has the perfect right to stuff the Senate with cronies. Its the Canadian way. One might even argue that the integrity of the institution demands these appointments be made.

However, they are most accurately viewed as signalling the inevitable process by which a political party or movement sheds its Idealism in the face of hard reality. Where once the CPoC could argue that there was a clear moral distinction between them and the Liberals, now they can merely argue that there is a barely perceptible moral distinction between them and the Liberals. In three months, they will be arguing that their latest scandal isn't as bad as Adscam was. In six months...well, everybody count the spoons on Parliament Hill.

(PS. I'm hoping Harper does what so many people have tried to do for so many years-- get Puffy off the air-waves. For one thing, that would literalize the "stuffing" metaphor. Would they be forced to give him two Senate seats, a la the major airlines?)

H/t Ted.

Speak, Iggy, Speak

Canada should continue fighting the war in Afghanistan after the mission's scheduled end in 2011, the United States' top military official hinted today.

Peter MacKay spokesman Dan Dugas has already suggested that no extension is in the cards. Iggy should also make his position known. Let's hope this isn't one of those cases where he decides to try and outmaneuver the government on its right flank.

Dear Jon...,

Michael Ignatieff figures out a way to link himself to Adscam

Posted: December 11, 2008, 8:12 AM by Jonathan Kay
Jonathan Kay

All the details on Ezra Levant's must-read blog here.

...under certain circumstances, linking to defamatory material is also defamatory.

Now, google-cache results take about a day to appear, so we won't know for awhile if Jonathon Kay found a stinking fish on Full Comment this morning and disappeared it in a panic, or whether he is simply trying to keep Ezra at least a few links distant.

Free Dominion Bits And Bites

Connie says:

Today we were served with the following Motion. We are to appear in Court on January 22nd where Richard Warman will attempt to compell us to reveal the identities of the eight Free Dominion John Does (information we don't even have). He is also asking for us to have to pay for the cost of the Motion (probably around $10,000)."

The motion is here. The pseuds Warman is trying to identify post as: klinxx, SaskBigPicture, Droid1963, conscience, Faramir, Peter O'Donnell, Padraigh, and HR-101.

Meanwhile, the legal bills continue to mount.

Playing Chess

Coyne:

And as the Liberals cannot possibly face an election at this time — Ignatieff has reportedly been brutally frank about this in caucus — far the greater likelihood is that the budget will pass.

Unless… Unless the Tories can find some way to make it impossible for the Liberals to accept it. They have to be careful: they don’t want to lose the public. But suppose they were to spend the next several weeks advertising their willingness to work with the opposition — especially the Liberals. And suppose they were to take on board many of the opposition demands: a massive bailout for Big Auto. Billions more in infrastructure spending, complete with “shovels in the ground” photo-ops. A feel-good meeting with the premiers in mid-January, ending in some sort of agreement to “work together” on the economy. All wrapped up in a budget whose every second word is “stimulus.” And now suppose, having given the Liberals just about everything they could ask for, they also include the party financing proposal.

So the Liberals pass the budget and wait for legislation on party financing to be introduced, as it must be. They let the legislation through the first couple of readings, promising to make it better in committee, working with the other opposition parties which combined have a majority on said committee.

The bill then dies, or is returned to Parliament as some kind of ghastly horror the government cannot possibly support.

Check, Mr. Harper.

Support Warchild...And Rock!

A reminder that there are more important things to worry about than Canadian politics came the other day when Warchild Canada's information package arrived in my mailbox.

Warchild is an NGO that focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict--for instance, on helping former child soldiers to reintegrate into society. There are many good reasons to support their efforts, some of which can be found here, but the thing that caught my attention was the fact that they are auctioning off a trip to New York City to see The Kings of Leon play Madison Square Gardens tomorrow night.

The Kings of Leon, along with My Morning Jacket and The Drive By Truckers, have been one of the driving forces behind the Southern Rock revival of the past decade or so. Here's the lads doing "Red Morning Light" from their very first album.

Warning! Some very serious hair here! If you find that a turnoff, or if it reminds you of things gone with your youth, avert your eyes!

File Under: Politics Is Weird And Scuzzy

Did Liberals hijack the federal Green Party in Mississauga?

This is, I suppose, pretty "inside baseball" type stuff, and no names are given so everything remains a bit cryptic. The money passage:

In 2007 the Green Party of Canada in Mississauga Streetsville (MS GPC) was infiltrated by a group of people who not only were not Green but had one stated objective – to embarrass Wajid Khan. With sufficient numbers and the same old sleazy back room crap that the liberal party is always doing (check out their current leadership “issues”) they managed to get elected. Their agenda was to take over the electoral district association, and highjack the money the GPC Ottawa sent to the local EDA.

Apparently, the Lib infiltrators have been cleaned out and Mississauga's Green Party is back to being purely green. I guess that coalition didn't turn out too well either.

A good example of why I avoid riding-level politics.

When The Choice is Between Liver And Meatloaf

...your best option is to choose quickly and eat fast. Bob Rae did the right thing today.

Hopefully the May meeting goes forward in a different guise, and the party passes a series of democratic reforms like no more delegated conventions and one Member one Vote for the next leadership campaign.

New Western Separatist Organization Consists Of One Guy!

David Crutcher! That's it! And a computer. And maybe a coffee table! Even if you don't agree with the WBTA's politics, give 'em a call. Dave must be terribly lonely.

h/t Buckets.

A Strategy Based On Hope Is Doomed

Stephen Le Drew, him of bow-tie & beanie fame, gives the Federal Liberals some very bad advice in this morning's National Post.

Even in taking his leave, Stephane Dion can't get it straight. By stating that the party needs a leader before the Commons resumes at the end of January, he is effectively rejecting the benefits of a considered leadership debate, while robbing tens of thousands of Liberals of their voice in choosing their own leader.

In other words, the party should continue its leisurely amble towards a May convention and appoint a neutral and essentially pointless interim leader in the meantime. But wait! The party doesn't operate in a vacuum. What if Stephen Harper's Tories throw something really nasty into their January budget? LeDrew announces the Party's surrender in advance:

In response, some Liberals contend that the party needs a permanent leader to run in the election that surely will befall us before the Liberal convention in Vancouver slated for May. But anyone who says that the Liberals should vote down the government has rocks in his head.

The Liberal party has no money, precious few new ideas (I am being generous here), an embarrassing leader and the least voter-support in its history. It desperately needs to rebuild before it can expect any respect from Canadians.


Yes but, again, what if Stephen Harper is true to form, and decides a January budget is a terrific time to break the opposition once and for all? Maybe he'll move once again to eliminate subsidies for federal political parties? That polled pretty well. LeDrew's answer?

...I suggest that trigger-happy MPs wait to see the next budget before they huff and puff and try to blow Harper's house down. Hopefully he will have learned his lesson, and deliver a first-class economic plan for Canada.

Ah, Hope! And Prayer, perhaps! The Liberal Party of Canada should kind of drift aimlessly through the next six months relying on the kindness of the Federal Conservatives!

Look, I have never actually joined the LPC, though I have occasionally donated to the cause. I generally only offer them my free and unsolicited advice. So my opinion shouldn't count for much. But I'll say it again: Get It Done By January! If this can be arranged through some kind of on-line/phone "consultation" so be it. If they have to lock Bob Rae in a closet for two months while Michael Ignaetieff is anointed in some smoke-filled backroom, that's fine too. But remember, as Stephen Janke points out, this is a party that can't afford a working digital camera and is helpless when the auto-focus on the old one they DO own breaks down.


And these people want to organize a virtual convention during the Xmas season? Pretty elaborate for a gang that would have trouble finding the fly on its pants.


And the "grass roots", those people who got behind a back-room deal to topple the current government, are insisting upon "democracy" for themselves? Such a sense of entitlement! They are demanding silver paper when all they can afford, and all they deserve, is cheese.


The "grass roots" ought to be thinking less of what the Party owes them then what it owes that segment of the Canadian population that votes Liberal because they seem the only reasonable alternative to the Canadian Right. And what the party owes us is a minimal display of competence, not the sight of 60,000+ thought vacuums diddling about in the name of their rights for six months while the nation goes into decline.

Update: Rae does the right thing.

Ontario Land Owners Protest Flops

Fewer than a dozen tractors and other machines clogged traffic for a few hours in front of the Parliament Buildings before they left about mid-morning.

Spending time berating the OLA is, I suppose, like pulling the wings off flies, but one of their people has made vague threats against me in the past, so let me just briefly note their ghastly and abject failure.

Dozens Of Anti-Coalition Protesters Annoy Ottawanians!

The rural separatists of the Ontario Land Owner's Association have landed in downtown Ottawa with their tractors, slowing traffic and generally being a nuisance.

No word on arrests, but it isn't uncommon that the police throw a few of these guys in jail overnight.

No word on gun play or beatings either.

Good News On Electric Vehicles

Low-speed vehicles such as the ZENN electric car are finally going to be allowed on Ontario roads.

Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said yesterday such city commuter vehicles would be roadworthy – once equipped with additional safety features. Low-speed vehicles 'are a new kind of vehicle and it will take a new set of standards to allow them to be safely driven on Ontario roads,' he said."

The top speed on these things is only about 40K, so obviously they are not highway ready. But if you live downtown in one of the large Metropolises like T.O. or Montreal (where they are already in use), that is usually about all you need (and all you can manage, given the traffic). I can see The City of Toronto itself making use of these things--they already employ a small fleet of smart cars.

The company website can be found here, a good Western Standard piece on Zenn cars can be found here.

Coming From The Coalition's Chief Salesman, There Is A Certain Irony To This

But the Rae camp says that choosing a leader behind closed doors is not the right move for the Liberal party.

Although, to give Mr. Rae credit, he has been a fine team player ever since becoming a Liberal and I suspect, esp. if LeBlanc pulls out of the leadership race today, that he will do the right thing.

Not A Bad Idea?

In Winnipeg to pitch his support for the Liberal-NDP coalition as a viable alternative to the Harper government, Rae responded to a question from his audience about whether a new Liberal leader could be in place by next month.

“Well, I would support that if we could do one-person, one-vote,” said the MPfor Toronto Centre. “If the party said, ‘We need to find an alternative quickly — can we just simply let the members of the party vote on who the leader should be?’ I would accept that. And I would accept the results

Of course, this would leave open the possibility of Torys joining the party en masse to skew the vote in one direction or another. That is what happened when David Orchard ran for the PC leadership. Hundreds of unsympathetic types (like me) paid the $10 membership feet and voted for Orchard, sending the race to an expensive and embarrassing run-off (eventually won by Joe Clark).

But there must be away to short-circuit that possibility, if it is seen as undesirable.

Add Up The Figures

...for all these pro- and anti-coalition rallies together and you still don't match the total of May 2008's Global Marijuana March, which saw 20,000 participants.

God bless Canada.

A Coalition If Necessary, But Not Necessarily A Coalition

The Tories are shifting bodies around in advance of their auto-sector bailout package:

Newmarket-Aurora MP Lois Brown has been named vice-chairperson of the Conservative Party's auto caucus.

The committee is responsible for meeting with representatives of the Canadian auto industry and bringing forward recommendations to Industry Minister Tony Clement.

So my question is: if, as many people seem to be suggesting, the Tory's January budget contains something substantial in the way of an auto-sector bailout and general stimulus package (and none of the economic update's poison pills), where does that leave The Coalition?

My personal opinion is that it will have served its purpose, and should at that time be abandoned. What would its ongoing rationale be? Merely to take power away from the Conservatives? Such a strategy may well lead to electoral disaster down the road, esp. if the government falls in, say, mid-Febraury and the GG decides that enough time has passed for another election to be a preferable option to coalition rule.

No. It is far better for the opposition parties to let the government of the day implement the opposition agenda. That is what this is about, right? What policies are operative, not who gets to put them in place.

Ezra On Separatism: Then And Now

Now.

Then:

Levant favoured Quebec separatism and a yes vote during the 1995 Quebec referendum in a Calgary Sun column titled "10 Reasons to Hope for a Yes Victory"[4] Among his 10 reasons were Levant's views that the departure of Quebec from Canadian confederation would lead to the elimination of bilingualism and multiculturalism, that it would give the Canadian government the "fortitude" to say no to "other special interest groups" such as First Nations and environmentalists; it would end corruption in Parliament which Levant blamed on Quebec politicians; and would clear the way for Preston Manning to become Prime Minister of Canada.[5]

In 1996, Levant wrote a column saying that if the federal Liberals were re-elected, Alberta could separate from Canada making it "free from Quebec's demands."[5]

We are at war with Eastasia. We've always been at war with Eastasia.

Meanwhile, it looks like the surge in Tory support was a temporary "rally 'round the flag" effect, and already starting to fade.

Something Zerby Notes

...but which I missed: Harper fails to recant cuts to pay equity.

And a point that did not get alot of play elsewhere in the MSM. Interesting who the Torys think its safe to screw over.

Just When It Looks Like Harper May Be Nearing Majority Territory...

...Alberta decides it wants out again.

These guys are led at the moment by David Crutcher, who was briefly President of the Alberta Progressive Conservative party's Calgary-Egmont association until they turfed him out for supporting the candidacy of Craig Chandler.

Right now it sounds like a joke, the old crew from the Reform Party crazy train revving up their electric walkers.

Here's a story from Thursday's Financial Post.

In This Case, Half A Loaf Is Not Better Than None

This prospect [a Jan.-Feb Election call] has led some Liberals to look for ways to install a new leader – possibly an interim head such as former cabinet ministers John McCallum or Ralph Goodale – as soon as possible so the party does not wind up fighting another election under Dion.

So an interim leader arrives in late December, vowing that he will be replaced by someone more permanent in May, and an election is called in March. Any campaign promises he makes will be perceived to be meaningless, because they will be meaningless.

Settle it, people! Settle it!

Merry Xmas!

Canwest stocks at $0.58!

I can see them across the road at the National Post. Looks like they've cut power to the building, cuz Jonathon Kay is stuffing his coat with yesterday's newspaper. Someone else is burning fallen leaves for warmth.

h/t TG in comments.

Dump Dion, Install Iggy

Because that video is a disgrace. Give him his gold watch and tell him bye bye.

Get it done before Parliament returns in January. Tell Bob Rae he's wasting his time and money.

As for Iggy, he hasn't looked bad on TV recently. Mind you, I've watched a lot of it with the sound off, but at least he hasn't accidentally stapled himself to anything, and that in itself is an improvement. Tell him to shave his eyebrows so he doesn't look so much like Spock.

Democracy? Fuck democracy. The party needs to be able to fight an election by the end of next month, whether there is still a coalition to belong to at that time or not.

The Shock And Awe Is Just Getting Started

From the Rally For Canada Facebook Site.

As a coalition supporter, I am already feeling the pressure from the vaunted Tory spin machine.

Threats Against Coalition Supporters

You knew this was going to happen. Pro-Coaliton MP. Nathan Cullen has had one of his signs fire-bombed, and they're talking armed insurrection over at Free Dominion:

Start sho-ting the bastards Ed.

[...]

They don't obey our English Common Law Rights that go Back 1,000 years. Piss on them. Find out their names and everywhere they go, have the lads, pull a nylon stocking over their heads and put them in the hospital. Give them a time out to reflect.

[...]

Ed you sound like a good man, and if you lived in Alberta I would love to have you as a neighbour. But you are very PC. These bastards need a good beating. They need some time in the hospital. They need to know that when they cross the line they are going to be going on hospital food for awhile. Get a backbone. Couple of hundred bucks should get any of them a damn good beating. And let it be known. That is the old Canadian way.

They even mention me.

[...]

In the good ole days this is the way scum were kept in line. If this was in practice now, do you think scum like swillella or BCL would be defaming good people?

Of course, Mr. Harper is to blame for this.

Apology To Mark Steyn

On November 26th I wrote a short post entitled "Steyn Gets Punked By 28 Year Old Literary Hoax ". The subject of this post was a passage from Mr. Steyn's review of Oriana Fallaci’s book The Force Of Reason in Maclean's magazine, where Steyn discusses the writings of the Ayatollah Khomeini:

Also: "A man who has had sexual relations with an animal, such as a sheep, may not eat its meat. He would commit sin." Indeed. A quiet cigarette afterwards as you listen to your favourite Johnny Mathis LP and then a promise to call her next week and swing by the pasture is by far the best way. It may also be a sin to roast your nine-year-old wife, but the Ayatollah's not clear on that.

And the particular claim I made re the passage above was that no legitimate source for this statement on the topic of bestiality could be found in Khomeini's work. Having read Mr. Steyn's response, I must concede that my claim has not been fully proven.

Now, a couple of things.

Firstly, it is pretty appalling that Maclean's should have published this garbage. They are, after all, supposed to be Canada's national magazine, and not some potty-mouthed blog dedicated to flinging rhetorical poo at vulnerable ethnic and religious groups. And it is reassuring that, in recent months, Maclean's seems to have ended its association with Mr. Steyn.

Secondly, the kind of "cheap joke" (his own words) that Steyn is playing here can be played, with identical results, upon any religion. One might point out that Europe's animal trials, which were carried out by both secular and church authorities, continued into the 18th century and had their own odd customs in regards to bestiality. For example, if you were caught sleeping with your sheep, the sheep hung too, which seems grossly unfair.

Furthermore, biblical injunctions against bestiality are similarly peculiar. Take Leviticus 18:23:

Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

While (according to The Bible) neither men nor women may actually engage in sexual relations with animals, women are additionally prohibited from "presenting" themselves to the animal for the purposes of sexual activity. Which is to say that guys are, and women are not, allowed to flirt with their animals, as long as no tongues are involved.

Nuance aside, however, let me just say at this point that I believe bestiality to be wrong. In fact, I think the Ayatollah and I concur on this point. Of the three of us, it is Mr. Steyn who, with such statements as

A quiet cigarette afterwards as you listen to your favourite Johnny Mathis LP and then a promise to call her next week and swing by the pasture is by far the best way...

...appears most ambiguous on the issue. I would call upon him now to come out with some kind of clear statement against bestiality, if not for the sake of the children, then at least for the sake of the child-like men who read his work and may otherwise show up at his next book-signing with their newly purchased bovine lover in tow.

But these are side issues. Although I still hold that Mr. Steyn's writings are ghastly and ill-researched, this inference could not be legitmately drawn from the example I presented. That I drew such an inference is wrong, and I apologize for it most whole-heartedly.

PS. Is Khomeini the guy they referred to as "the Ayatollah of rock n' rolla", or is that someone else?

Meanwhile, we offer Mark Steyn a chance to make an apology of his own here.

Angus Reid Poll: 44% Support Turning Government Over To Opposition

If the Conservative minority government is defeated, what would be your preferred solution?

Holding a new federal election 32%

Allowing the opposition to form a coalition government (two or more parties are represented in the cabinet) 37%

Allowing the opposition to govern by accord (a party is supported by one or more parties that do not have representation in the cabinet) 7%

Not sure 24%

37+7. A little more definitive when looked at this way.

Dean Del Mastro Rally Brings Out Dozens Of Really Old People

The Sun put the crown at 150, but if you look at these photos and watch the video I would guess it was considerably less than that (My Kawartha gives a figure of "more than 100").

Furthermore, given the crowd demographic, if Harper succeeds in proroguing Parliament today, most of them won't be here to see it return in the new year.

Where The Premiers Stand On Coalition

A nice round-up from The Shotgun:

Ed Stelmach of Alberta wants the opposition to back down to ensure stability.
Danny Williams of Newfoundland says he'll work with the coalition but he's not taking sides. (From Mike Duffy)

Brad Wall of Saskatchawan wants the opposition to at least wait until the budget to bring down the government. (From Mike Duffy)

Gordon Campbell of British Columbia wants the same. (From Mike Duffy)

Dalton McGuinty of Ontario wants things to end quickly so he can sooner give incompetent auto executives public funds.

Gary Doer of Manitoba is expressing no real opinion.

Jean Charest of Quebec wants things ended quickly.

Shawn Graham of New Brunswick is refusing to comment.

Rodney MacDonald of Nova Scotia blames everyone for the instability and fears potential Bloc influence.

Robert Ghiz of PEI...I honestly could not find any public statement that he's made. If anyone knows of one, let me know.

(Ghiz has now said that

"Regardless of which party or coalition is in power in Ottawa, as premier of this province I am going to work with whoever is there." )

And--just because everyone loves Bill Casey--Bill Casey is down with the revolution.

The Only Thing That Bothers Me Is...

...should the unthinkable occur, and the GG turn down the coalition's offer to form a new government, are the opposition parties ready to fight another election, and are the Liberals in particular ready to fight another election behind Dion?

Just asking.

The Counter Revolution Gathers Steam!

At the Rally -Canadians for Democracy Facebook site, they're discussing Thursday's Rideau Hall demo:

If I were in Ottawa, I would be there for sure. But I'm so there in spirit!
-Evangeline Winfield

I wish, I will be giving moral support from Sweden!
-Brian St. Louis

I'd go but I will be bathing my hamster that night!
-Bigcitylib

I'll be flying to Atlanta but I definitely would have been there.
-Meggan Larson

I'd like to go, but I have class, then work, then have a Christmas party in the evening ...
-Marysia Inriver

Although I can't make it to Ottawa, I'll be there is spirit.
-Erin King

I can't make it, but I invited people.
-Suzanne Fortin

I've got class till 11:30 I'm afraid.
-Andrew Poncia

Uh uh. They're showing Beverley Hillbilly reruns on cable that night! But I'll be cheering for you!
-Heywood J. Blome

WTF happened? Did someone say it was BYOB? You never do that.

Paul Godfrey To Natty Post

Over 8 years, he made the Blue Jays a .500 ball-club. Can he get Canwest shares up over $1.00?
(Incidentally, Godfrey's name always seems to come up around municipal election time. I guess this takes him out of the running for 2010. Who then shall save TO from David Miller?)

Interesting To See How This Pans Out

These guys are planning demonstrations against the "Separatist led coup" on Saturday. More information at their Facebook page. Seems to be organized by a lady named Andrea Walker, who I have never heard of.

Interesting to see what kind of numbers they can draw.

Quebec Is Down With It

76% support a coalition if the Conservatives are defeated, while only 9% want another election.

62% would support BQ representation in cabinet, while only 33% are opposed, as is Gilles Duceppe.

56% do not want Stéphane Dion to be Prime Minister in the coalition government, while only 38% do.

The Bloc québécois now is at 36%, the Liberals at 28% (an increase of 5 points since the election) 15% support the NDP and 15% the Conservatives (a drop of 7 points).

Finally, some real polls on the issue. I would expect to see similar drops in Conservative levels country wide, with the possible exception of Alberta. Although maybe, given the tortured response to the crisis at Project Alberta, there too. Lots of peoplethere seem to think Harper tossed this one down the well.

In any case, the Tory strategy--hoping Canadian's are too stupid to understand that a Coalition government is constitutionally legitimate--does not appear to be holding up.

Why Not Stock?

This email landed in my in-box yesterday evening:

We are a rapidly growing group of grassroots Conservatives and reptilians from across the country; who are aggressively campaigning to have Stockwell Day elected the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

These are tumultuous times for our party and our country and reptilians. Our nation’s politics are divided and we are facing growing challenges at home and abroad. Stockwell Day has a personal connection with Jesus and can summon a mighty dinosaur army with a single prayer.

We realize our position may not be popular within the Conservative Party, and therefore we must remain anonymous for the time being. However, principled conservatives and anyone with processes or a brow horn may contact us here.

PS. When Stockwell rules, that prick Kinsella will first to be eaten.

B.D.

Website to follow, presumably.