There’s a big hubbub in the US over the leaked Mitt Romney tape from a private fundraiser earlier this year, where he disparages 47% of the US people who support Obama as being dependent on handouts, etc. He’ taking yet more flak over it. Personally, I think it’s good this
Continue readingTag: American politics
Trashy's World: The American Convention thing..,
…makes me wonder. This whole “testamental” parade to the podium… not at all something we see very much of in The Great White… at least not to the über degree that we saw at the RNC or the DNC. How would it look here? What luminaries would extol the virtues
Continue readingTrashy's World: Insights
Ah. My 8 year old has joined me in watching the DNC. And she’s asking intelligent questions. Yup. A chip off her mom and dad’s block. Right now, a retired General is talking about the need for respect for vets. Harper should listen to this stuff. (6) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: The Clint Eastwood Speech at the RNC figured out.
If you follow politics and more specifically follow American Politics.. you know the talk lately has been the quirky offbeat speech that actor Clint Eastwood gave at the Republican National Convention – specifically addressing an empty chair pretending President Obama was sitting there while attempting to go “Dirty Harry” on
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Twisting the Facts on the Environment
Courtesy of sumofus.org Case #1: BC Premier Christy Clark has a job creation plan. One component of said plan involves three liquefied natural gas plants in the northern part of the province. Unfortunately, this runs afoul of the provincial Clean Energy Act. So what does Premier Clark do? In June,
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: 2 ironies here with Republican Todd Akin
Todd Akin, if you’re not aware, is the Republican candidate for Missouri Senate. He is now infamously quoted as having said this in an interview on Sunday: “First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in an interview posted Sunday.
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: US Politics – Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as his VP candidate. Democrats applaud
So it’s official, Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, has chosen US Congressman Paul Ryan as his Vice-Presidential running mate. You don’t know much about Paul Ryan? He’s viewed as an ideological right-wing Congressman, who would be supported by those folks known as the Tea Party faction in the US. How
Continue readingcultural sn:afu: According to Walt Wawra the world is a place in need of infinitely more guns
If you were still wondering about the differences between Canada and the US, in terms of gun culture and other stuff, this might explain a few things… According to his letter to the Calgary Herald, Walt Wawra, a Michigan police … Continue reading →
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Chick-Fil-A
In honour of Pride Week here in Vancouver, I can think of no better time to wade into the growing Chick-fil-A row currently ruffling the feathers of our southern neighbours. For those who don’t follow American news (it’s not like we’re a different country or anything), Chick-fil-A is a US-based
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Upset with Obama? Could be worse – you could get Romney.
A fair number of progressive political activists in the US and some in Canada are disappointed that Obama has not been as progressive or transformational as they like, and has turned out to be more of a cautious President. That may be true, but things could be worse: they could
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Friendly Canadian Input on the US Election
The sun is shining. The flowers are blooming. We are in a year that is divisible by four. I think we all know what that means. In a matter of months, our American friends will once again start hanging chads or whatever it is they do to hold a presidential
Continue readingConservative war on ideas and the great leap backwards
#cpc #bcpoli #pmsharper #ndp #cdnpoli For those who think that American style ultra-stupid conservative politics would never come to Canada, brace yourself – its on its way. And I’m not just talking about Sun News network, dubbed as ‘Fox North’ by its critics – even if they do come close
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: US Supreme Court rules US Affordable Health Care Act is Constitutional..
…the surprising thing here is that Chief Justice John Roberts, the conservative judge appointed by GW Bush, is the deciding vote, and not the usual “moderate conservative” Anthony Kennedy. He went over and sided with the 3 Musketeers (Scalia, Alito, Thomas) and said the whole act was unconstitutional. The venom
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: President Obama and Marriage Equality
First thing’s first. Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage yesterday should be celebrated. On the heels of similar pronouncements by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, this marks the first time that a sitting US President has taken such a bold stance in favour of marriage
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Right-wing talk radio on the US is going to be frothier then usual from now until November.
You might have heard that President Obama came out publicly and announced his support for same-sex marriage: “It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” As expected, that set off a right-wing talk-radio torrent. The funniest rebuttal
Continue readingI know more about American political parties than 92 per cent of Americans
Don’t take my word for it. The Pew Research Center says so. All I did was take their quiz about the two major American political parties and answer all the questions correctly. And that put me ahead of 92 per cent of Americans surveyed by the Center. Take the quiz
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Join the Party! – Contradictions in the GOP.
I’m thinking we need a Canadian version for our own reality challenged Conservative party. Filed under: Politics Tagged: American Politics, funny-sad, Humour, Join the party!, The Republicans
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: What Obama Should Say If His Health Bill Loses in Court
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform bill, had its three days in the Supreme Court last week, and by most accounts it did not go very well. Nothing is certain until the Court delivers its ruling in June. But if it does
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: The Alternative Norquist Pledge
It has been over two years since the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling struck down government restrictions on political spending by corporations and unions. A crafty syllogism lies at the heart of the decision’s rationale: Corporations = people. Money = speech. Therefore, campaign finance reform
Continue readingTrashy's World: So Santorum wins…
… two Bible-belt states… and some folks are surprised? Really? On the radio this morning, I hear him say to a crowd after the wins: “The most common thing I have people saying to me is that “I am praying for you”. …and the audience yells “Amen!” Yeah. And there
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