Author: Dr.Dawg

A statistical study of 27 ridings correlates vote-suppressing robocalls with…vote suppression. But the number of ridings reportedly subject to such fakery is now well over 70. One might reasonably ask at this point: is the Harper government legitimate? Or did it steal its majority? With the support of 75% of

Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, who fearlessly sent countless young men and women to their deaths in Iraq and intrepidly authorized the use of torture, was unaccountably nervous about a little democratic protest outside the Toronto venue where he was due to speak in April. So he cancelled. But all

I can’t let the redoubtable Sixth Estate go it alone. Besides, I was asking the same questions myself back in January. Three months ago we were told that the federal lobbying commissioner, Karen Shepherd, had “completed a potentially explosive report of her eight-month investigation into the activities of Bruce Carson,

The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.—The Communist Manifesto Theories of the state have advanced considerably since Marx and Engels issued their famous challenge to the workers in 1848. But trust the Harper government to revive their too-simple

A new poll informs us, according to some pundits, that Harper has retained his base after Roboscam hit the news, so nothing has changed, move along, nothing to see here, Harper’s still the man. Darrell Bricker of Ipsos-Reid, whose poll it was, opines that the opposition parties should have stuck

More Afghan civilians murdered by one of their liberators. Whether it’s a wedding party or just prey, the bodies pile up, and the liberators are always sorry about that. Meanwhile, the current mayor of Kabul, Hamid Karzai, has decreed that women shall henceforward be second-class citizens. Remember, this is our

From south of the border comes a cautionary tale—but not the one author “DuzT” is spinning. Yet, in my heart of hearts, I believe we’re reading a clever parody here. DuzT is heading home after work, but he needs to buy groceries. He sets the scene for what follows in

For those worried about foreign influences on Canadian processes, here’s a must-read. From the US Front Porch through our Conservative Back Door. Get on over there, stiff drink in hand. [Antonia Zerbisias, via DAMMIT JANET!]

More classic Conservative hypocrisy, this time from the man who stole 50 million taxpayers’ dollars—already approved by Parliament for border security—to polish up his own riding. “The take-home lesson,” said Clement, “is to ingrain this idea of efficient and constrained use of tax dollars on a day-to-day basis, at every

Lord Black of Crossharbour pens a florid and overwrought piece in the National Post today, settling scores and threatening lawsuits in his time-honoured modus operandi. He’s upset that some of us think he should be stripped of his Order of Canada, as lesser beings like Steve Fonyo and David Ahenakew

Roboscam, not robocalls. And, although I’ve taken to using “roboscam” as shorthand, let is remember that live callers have also been implicated in this national vote suppression initiative. The issue isn’t robocalls. I don’t like ‘em, but they aren’t illegal per se. I’ve already voted online for the next NDP

…unless you’re a journalist who broke a story the Cons would have preferred to keep under wraps. From the conference agenda for March 9: 9:00 pm – 12:00 am Manning Rocks the Capital (Empire Grill (47 Clarence Street) A social evening with music, food and drink. Note: presentation of a

Seniors were deliberately targeted by bogus phone calls during last year’s election campaign, reports the Toronto Star. Elections Canada investigators sifting through a flood of complaints that have emerged about dirty tricks in the spring 2011 campaign have started to notice this pattern as they call back Canadians to verify

From the folks who brought you the G20 thugfest (above). The statistics are now plain for everyone to see: Toronto police are making a habit of stopping Black and brown folks out of all proportion to their numbers, demanding detailed information and dumping it into a huge database. A Star

This is infuriating. The Speaker of the House of Commons is now ruling opposition questions about Roboscam out of order: “Questions have to touch on the administrative responsibilities of government not political financing.” Think about the vastness of that now-forbidden territory for a moment. And watch our limited democracy shrink

The political degeneracy of our country continues. Even for Stephen Harper, this is truly disgusting: a homophobic far-right fringe group, REAL Women of Canada, has been enlisted by the Conservative government to decide who should receive Diamond Jubilee Medals, struck to honour Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne. Warren

If Elections Canada had the will, the resources and the powers, clearly Canada would be in the midst of a major, comprehensive probe of electoral dirty doings last year. At this point I would concede that I have no idea about the will. I am told that resources should not,

Think describing mass murderer Anders Breivik that way is a little over the top? Think again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Not surprisingly, Breivik likes them right back. When the identity of the killer was unknown, conservatives blamed Muslims as a collectivity. When it turned

More Canadians are learning what it’s like to question authority. From brazen interference with journalists to throwing young voters out of Conservative rallies, Stephen Harper’s Praetorian guard is on the job. And now they’re making housecalls. I suppose we should be grateful that Citizen Allsop wasn’t Tasered to death on

Sorry, all, but I lose all sense of civility when friends of mine are threatened by vehicular cowboys. This is a public service announcement. Just this past Monday, Patrick Denny (@atomicnoggin), the partner of my friend Vicky Smallman (@offhandremarks), was cut off by a yahoo taking a Queensway on-ramp. He