As a Kathleen Wynne delegate to the leadership convention, I will probably take some time in trying to articulate the significance of the win and not rush into a blathering post about how freakin’ awesome it all is. (By the way, Adam Goldenberg really nailed the personal aspect in his
Continue readingAuthor: Stratty
Convention countdown!
Only 8 – EIGHT! – days until the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention in Toronto, & I’m in organized chaos mode trying to figure out payments, fundraising, travel, & so forth. Because I’ve focused more on LGBT blogging & Twitter lately, here are a few random thoughts before I
Continue readingThe kazins of Marsaxlokk
When I’ve stayed in Malta, I’m actually based in Gozo, specifically in the village of Xlendi where my family and I had apartments. This has always made sightseeing in Malta proper (Gozo is the country’s second island) awkward as hell; we would take two early buses to the ferry, cross
Continue readingAnd just like that, the dreaded October
I know, I know; I haven’t been blogging, and I’ve been actively avoiding Twitter except for when I “cheat” & use it like the micro-blogging service that it was designed to be, rather than the coffee klatch for which I normally use it. Many of you noticed that I was
Continue readingMuscat eyeing Gozo
Muscat eyeing Gozo as PN positions Simon Busuttil to take on PL leader – maltatoday.com.mt. It’s a strange concept indeed for those of us used to the (near) sanctity of geographic representation to understand the way candidates are chosen in other countries. Now from Malta Today, the suggestion that Muscat,
Continue readingDutch election aftermath: it’s pretty much all good
Dutch election yesterday, with preliminary results as follows, via Parties and Elections in Europe: Party – Preliminary results (99,5%) – Ideology, Affiliation, Founding 2012 Seats 2010 Seats Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy Conservative liberalism ELDR, LI 1948 26,5% 41 20,4% 31 Partij van de
Continue readingIn defence of 14-year-old girls
So it was that MP Charlie Angus, the NDP’s self-appointed guardian of civility, has declared that Twitter has “turned us all into 14-year-olds in a cafeteria” where “[e]verybody gets to be a Grade 9 girl.” Yesterday’s context, of course, was Patrick Brazeau’s calling reporter Jen Ditchburn a “bitch” because she
Continue readingFather’s Day
When I think of my dad these days, what comes to mind is, oddly enough, my leg. Specifically it’s the back of my right calf. It’s balding. Again I’m reminded of God’s sense of humour when it comes to aging: every leg hair that I’ve lost has magically reappeared up
Continue readingBig boys in big girls’ shoes: the significance of Sharon Needles & RuPaul’s Drag Race
It’s not easy to explain how RuPaul’s Drag Race – especially season 4 – is more than just a bunch of big boys in big girls’ heels, to paraphrase contestant Willam Belli. On one level, the appeal of Drag Race is simply that it’s a really entertaining reality show, smart
Continue readingLeopard spots
Hot on the heels of the non-news that the Liberal Party’s national executive would rule soon that interim leader Bob Rae is “allowed” to run for the permanent leadership (he could anyway, but whatever), social media, the blogosphere, and the mainstream media are full of reports suggesting that Rae may
Continue readingDutch polls: not quite diseased
Just when you thought I had successfully limited my international political obsessions to Malta, Ireland, and New Zealand, I remembered my interest in Dutch politics. Way back when (by which I mean 2006), I spent six weeks on contract in the Netherlands during the lead-up to the 2006 election, and
Continue readingPolitical Twitter makes me cry
This is all pretty obvious stuff, but it needs repeating, especially as we head into the Liberal leadership period. I’m not calling anyone out here, but it would be nice if all politicians – Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat, & Green alike – tried to use Twitter in a more authentic
Continue readingBill 78: four constitutional questions
A caveat: I haven’t taken constitutional politics in over a decade, though I was fortunate enough to have Peter Russell as a professor and had issues with Ted Morton eons before his political career. Still, Québec’s Bill 78 raises some interesting constitutional questions for the layperson with a passing interest.
Continue readingDundonald Park
Photo: Dundonald Park in 1916, from Wikipedia. When my partner and I returned to Ottawa after a decade’s hiatus, we had a shortlist of acceptable neighbourhoods in which to live – all downtown, because why in the world would I flee a narrow-minded place like Prince Edward County only to
Continue readingThey are for JAM, people
#pinteRAGE
Continue readingHomegrown Terrorism
Poster campaign over Khadr’s possible return | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun. There is nothing about this article that doesn’t repulse me. Look at the poster: 9/11? Really? REALLY? No matter what Khadr did or didn’t do, no matter that he isn’t even in the country and
Continue readingFlashback: Kirsty Who?
Way back when, I wrote the music column for my friend Christine Renaud’s express and upfront magazines, dedicated to “art, entertainment & life” in Prince Edward County. This review is very typical of my style at the time (or lack thereof!). I really can’t be arsed to edit it. Remember
Continue readingJames Moore, all your child are belong to us!
Museum’s sex show gets dressing down from feds- Politics – Canoe.ca. I was raised by prudes who never gave me “the talk.” I grew up in an uptight, WASP suburb and traded it in for a redneck farming community. I learned nothing about sex. And I’m gay. I’m pretty damn
Continue readingThe Leadership Narrative
Way back when, a few months after the last federal election, I replied to the Susan Delacourt’s “Is the Liberal Party dead?” question, echoed ad nauseum in the nation’s press, with a warning to be wary of forcing Canadian politics to fit a certain narrative. That narrative presupposes the inevitability
Continue readingMother’s Day
Mother’s Day was mostly just another day. My mother never let me attempt breakfast in bed. Chances are, she cooked breakfast for me. Mom’s right arm was never the same after the cancer, and her tendency to swing hot pans close to my head became a nervous running joke. Mom
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