Tory Jean-Pierre Ouellet Has A Way With Money

Inspired by a Liberal Party talking point:

Reports emerged surrounding legal and ethical controversies against Conservative candidates such as the candidates for Calgary Northeast and for Madawaska-Restigouche.

Still don't know what's up in Calgary Northeast, but the ref. to the NB riding is about this:

OTTAWA — A Conservative candidate in New Brunswick is being sued by two investors who allege that he owes them $15,000 from a failed business deal in the 1990s.

Gerard and Martine Dube, a retired Edmundston couple, say that Jean-Pierre Ouellet, the nominated candidate for Madawaska-Restigouche, promised them their 1992 investment was guaranteed but avoided them for years and refused to pay them until January 2006, when he was running for Parliament.

At that point, says the Dubes’ statement of claim, Mr. Ouellet gave them $400 as a first payment. Then, when he lost a tight election to the Liberal candidate, he changed his telephone number and the Dubes have not been able to contact him.

So if you lend Jean-Pierre Ouellet beer money, and he fails to win a seat in Madawaska—Restigouche, you may have problems getting your beer money back.

A Historical Precedent For Elizabeth May?

His name was Gordon Wilson.

I actually agree that this all might work out in Stephen Harper's favor. But... give the Greens a couple of seats and the party acquires the ability to pick candidates that aren't loony. It gives them funding, and all the accouterments of a real political party, instead of resembling a gang of lost hippies who raise money by holding salmon bakes.

So bad for the Liberal party, maybe, but good for the country.

Hobbits Among Us?

A bit of a switch.

A new paper on Homo floresiensis, the tiny people that occupied Flores up until perhaps 13,000 years ago. It argues that The Hobbits were not a pathological form of H. sapiens (microcephalic), not a dwarfed H. sapiens related to the Neolithic inhabitants of Flores, but most likely a dwarfed band of Homo erectus, relict, in terms of surviving, and evolved, not “primitive.” Contains some terrific skull measurements!

The significance of the new paper lies in the fact that, most likely, homo sapiens shared the planet with a very different human-like species until quite close to historical times. This means that various legends worldwide of "The Little People" might actually be grounded in fact, which means that remnant populations might still be alive to day in some of the wilder parts of the planet...which means that some day elf meat may be back on the menu!

H/T Cryptomundo.

(PS. Apologies to anyone who comes to BCLSB looking for climate science stuff. As you may have noticed, we've got an election going on here in Canada and though environmental issues bulk large in it, my focus has shifted a bit in the past couple of weeks. Specifically, what I'm really trying to do is arrange a sex scandal that brings down one or more Conservative MPs. Unfortunately, so far none of them wants to sleep with me.)

Western Standard Finds Ezra

I'm working as a volunteer in the Conservative campaign out in Ottawa....getting hamburgers for the war room...

I have a vision of Ezra waiting tables in an apron. It is a good vision. It makes me giggle.

More seriously, Free Speech seems to have tanked as an election issue, which anyone could have predicted. Once you get Ezra Levant, journos, the Canadian Neo-Nazi movement, and Margaret Atwood on the same side of an issue...that's what you call a coalition of losers.

Can We Call The Tory Web Strategy A Total Disaster Now?

After putting up profiles mocking well known Canadian journalists, the Tories have now PULLED THEM DOWN from the DIONBOOk portion of their site.

Luckily, you can still use the site to send dirty emails on behalf of Stephen Harper.

Tories Still Scary In TO

They've renominated Roxanne James to run in Scarborough Center. From her 2006 bio:

As a member of Canada Family Action Coalition, she has rallied for tougher laws on child pornography and worked on the “Defend Marriage” campaign. Roxanne has also been responsible for organizing and speaking at several rallies.

She also has links to a number of fringe right American groups.

I guess it doesn't matter who you run in ridings you know you're gonna lose.

HAND-PICKED Tory Candidate Forced To Step Down Over Criminal Record

This goes straight to the judgement of The Leader, doesn't it?

Update: Whose campaign is unready now, hmm? Hmmm?

Jeez, looks like the Tories are up to a gaffe a day. This seems to be the first one, though, that didn't emanate from within the Tory War Room.

Fun With The CPoC Website

At the Tory's NotALeader site, there's this thing called the Stephane Dion excuse generator, which you may use to send emails to people giving explanations of why you didn't do this or that little thing. The point being, of course, to mock the Liberal party abstentions from last Spring and Summer.

However, instead of using your own name you can use any name, like "Stephen Harper", and instead of your own email you can just make one up, like Sharper@hotmail.com. And, as to the message you send, well there's quite a bit of leeway as to what goes into it. For example:

And then, when you click on the button to get your excuse, a little customization gives you:

I've sent off a good two dozen of these things to my favorite and not so favorite journalists and other notable folk. Tonight when I get back from work, another set of messages from "Stephen Harper" go out, a little bit filthier than the first, and so on and so forth until the Tory War Room either shuts that section of the site down or sends the police after me.

Dumbest...War Room...Ever.

Stephen Harper Steps Down!

The Pundits Guide mentioned this first, and Mr. Harper confirmed it to me via email earlier this morning. His explanation:

Moving to the UK for work.

Oh yeah, this is Stephen Harper, Green Party candidate for Burnaby-Douglas.

Tory War Room Tanks

Later yesterday, the Conservatives announced they are pulling back from the strategy of news conferences at dawn. They said they would move today's announcement to 8 a.m. and will likely have evening announcements.

Just as I predicted. Because I know reporters. Just try to get them out of bed before 6:00 AM.

Charles Adler Chose To Become A Mouth Breather

He probably doesn't remember it, but Charles Adler interviewed me about 15 years ago when (if I am remembering correctly) he worked on a television show for none other than Garth Turner. I remember a pale, puffy fellow who, from the size of the knot in his neck-tie, never really learned the trick.

And it always amuses me to see how his move West transformed him into a Calgary Carnivore, throwing out slabs of raw meat for the local yokals. So when you read something like this, remember, its all fake. Charle's knows a few two syllable words; there's just no point using them in Alberta.

Meet The Innocent Duck Hunter

...whose weapon Stephane Dion wants to confiscate, and who Stephen Harper has sworn to protect.

Rural Radicals Carry Conservative Message

According to Stephen Taylor, that's a picture of someone from the Ontario Land Owners Association with a CPoC "Tax On Everything" t-shirt". This fellow is protesting a Dion event in Ottawa.

Randy Hillier fronted these guys a couple of years ago, during which time he called for, among other things, a separate state in rural Ontario. More recently several members of their leadership were arrested several weeks ago up in Horton township for protesting the installation of a couple of septic tanks.

Nice bunch to have on your side, Stephen!

(PS. Although it also looks like the OLA will be trying to meet with CPoC next time Harper is in Ottawa. Wonder what kind of response they'll get)

You Can Crank That Amp To 11 All You Want, Boyo

...but eventually you have to play something. The first use of the Tory war-room is shockingly content free. Most important line in the piece is the quiet little lament at the end

However the [Conservative] party did not announce any plans of its own during the press conference.

Presumably CPoC's gonna run some kind of policy out the speakers eventually, otherwise the press-corp is gonna get tired of this pre-dawn stuff pretty quick.

Update: Kady the Wonderbabe reports that the press-corp got tired of it on day one.

That Liberal Plane

Presumably, the Liberal campaign has been scripted for some time now. If the plan did not require a plane until day four, why would the party waste money renting a plane longer than we need to?

Cherniak is basically correct on this one, although I don't know whether the decision to not rent a plane until Wednesday followed the script, or the script followed an inability to get the plane. In any case, the ridings being visited are not all safe seats by a long shot, and any time that Dion spends is Quebec, at this point, is well spent. The press kerfuffle is just a matter of the Conservative attack machine scoring a point on some gullible reporters and my only concern is: where is the Liberal Party list of Tory "gotcha" moments, real or perceived? Are they supposed to be above this kind of thing?

EmbarassaTory Monday: Harper Hangin' With Extremists

Back in the good (or bad) old days, when Conservatives embraced their political base rather than fleeing it madly, Stephen Harper appeared with Ed and Connie of FreeDominion fame, whose exploits I have chronicled at great length.

Here they are all celebrating the launch of the Iraq War in March of 2003. There are smiles all around because they just know the Iraqis will greet U.S. soldiers with flowers.

PS. Yes, that document on the podium is in fact the Hidden Agenda. Harper hides it a little better these days. If you look close you can seen that he's got it turned to the page on "Secret Recipes".

Salute From The Tory Bunker

Got this spam email today, as did Dawg and I'm sure a bunch of others:

femaleCONvoter said...

In rural southwestern Ontario, I will be voting Conservative again. Canada deserves a leader that can be counted on to make the right decisions for this country. Harper has proven to Canadian voters that his government was the right choice last time and will be this time.

Trapped in a concrete bunker with a bunch of alpha geek Tory lads, I'm sure femaleCONvoter feels like the only woman on a Greek freighter. Hope they've got lots of those tablets they give the men on submarines.

Update: From the comments it looks like we're up to at least four or five other blogs.

Tory Minister of National Defense Can't Find The Arctic Ocean!

He [Peter MacKay] got his speaking notes for the Northwest Passage mixed up with his speaking notes for the Arctic Ocean, and I think that's pretty appalling given the importance of this particular issue for the long-term interests of Canada.

You can't assert sovereignty over it if you can't find it. Can Canada afford four more years from a government in which the players--other than the PM himself--are a bunch of developmentally challenged cabbage heads?

Booyah! Right back at ya!

EmbarassaTory Sunday: Mike Lake And Bigfoot

Back in May of 2007, Conservative MP Mike Lake (Edmonton, Mill Woods-Beaumont) recieved a thorough reaming from both the blogosphere and MSM for taking a constituent petition to the House of Commons that would have had Bigfoot protected under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. I must admit I played a small role in the pile-on when I discovered that the man behind the petition was "Bigfoot researcher" Todd Standing, whose greatest claim to fame in the world of crypto-zoology was 12 seconds of some pretty iffy looking Bigfoot footage, and a "documentary" on Bigfoot entitled Sylvanic that apparently involved some very bad acting.

The intensity of the ridicule grew so intense that Mr. Lake eventually disowned his petition:

The press release [issued May 3rd] is the only statement that Mr. Lake will be making. He is not responding to any media requests in the hope that this issue will go away. Mr. Lake does not believe in Bigfoot!

Remember this, Edmonton voters, when the time comes!


Here a Bigfoot, feeling sad and betrayed by his erstwhile champion, leaves Edmonton behind.

The Decline And Fall Of Surface Stations

When Anthony Watts launched Surface Stations back in June of 2007, his purpose was to demonstrate that some if not all of the U.S. temperature increases recorded during the 20th/early 21st Century were due to "localized changes in the temperature-measurement environment". In other words, due to poor siting of the surface stations scattered across the U.S. to record local temperature information. The idea was that a small volunteer army would fan out across the U.S., carrying notebooks and digital cameras, and rank these stations according to CRN siting guidelines. At some point, when enough stations had been assigned a rank, an analysis of the temperature record would be performed based on the data gathered only from stations that were "well sited". And then, hey presto!, no more Global Warming


While the project got off to a roaring start, with over 200 stations visited and analysed within the first couple of months

... this graph, based on the data points assembed below, shows a project that, since about the beginning of 2008, appears to be stagnant. A glimpse of the Surface Stations website confirms this, with the main page's last up date coming in April of this year.

So what is behind the slow death of Surface Stations?


Well, one issue relates to the accessibility of the stations themselves. Anthony's volunteers clearly went first for the "low hanging fruit"--surface stations closest to their own geographical location--and only later proceeded, at a slower pace obviously, to survey the more remote stations.


Additionally, something very important happened in September of 2007. By this time, 340 stations had been surveyed, a more than large enough sample (according to frequent Roger Pielke Sr. co-author John Nielsen-Gammon) upon which to test the Watts Hypothesis. And in fact John V. did just just this at the Climate Audit website. His conclusion:


...this is starting to look like a great validation of GISTEMP [Goddard Institute for Space Studies Temperature Analysis].


In other wordings, removing the poorly sited stations had no effect of the temperature record. Hey presto! Global Warming was back!


Since this time, nobody has attempted a comparable analysis on the ever-larger data-base of stations that Anthony and crew have compiled, with Anthony apparently choosing to hold off on this step until a complete record has been compiled. At the same time, the number of stations added to the record has declined precipitately.

These two facts are, I believe, linked. As long as the project is still on-going, the Watts hypothesis can still be said to be in play. As long as the hypothesis is still in play, the denialist movement can use it as a bullet in the warming wars, and the lower end of the MSM will still report it as such. Which is to say that, as a tool of anti-AGW propaganda, the Surface Stations project is only useful only insofar as it is incomplete and untested.

PS. Interestingly enough, Surface Stations Canada never even got off the ground.

DATES IN SURFACE STATIONS HISTORY

Founded in June 2007.
July 28,2007: 222 stations surveyed.
Sept 22, 2007: 340 stations surveyed.
Nov 11, 2007: 422 stations surveyed.
April 18, 2008 (Last time home-page was modified): 534 stations surveyed.
August, 2008: 600 stations surveyed.