Was There an Organized Poll Suppression Operation in Spring 2011?
After weeks of Conservative pundits telling us that Ted Opitz should keep his seat because there was no evidence of vote fraud in Etobicoke Centre, CBC has shown the value…
Sixth Estate
One-Quarter of Americans Still Living in Geocentric Universe
512 years after Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for suggesting that Earth orbited the Sun and that the Sun was just one among innumerable stars (forget your schoolbooks:…
Only 60% of Conservatives Think a 20-foot Sea Level Rise Would be a Problem
You may have read a little while ago about a study in Nature showing that as scientific literacy increased, “liberal” people became more concerned about climate change, but “conservatives,” oddly,…
Four Trillion-Dollar Industries the Canadian Government Could Invest In
I want to follow up on my recent post, suggesting that rationally planning for the future might not be such a stupid idea after all, by turning to the next…
Capital Punishment Debate on the Horizon?
Over the weekend I found myself wondering who would be the first to start baying for Luka Magnotta’s blood. Now I have my answer: Toronto councillor Giorgio Mammoliti and National…
Basic Math on Our Energy Future
This year there have been great exultation from the pro-business sector about the fact that the shale gas revolution, new Arctic prospecting, and various other schemes mean the “peak oil”…
Why Catholic Schools Should Be Allowed To Discriminate Against Gay Students
Why exactly this is news I can’t imagine, because it’s been brewing for years now. It was brewing when I was living in Ontario — and I’m not anymore. But…
When Did Rationally Planning for an Uncertain Future Become “Socialist”?
Seriously. At what precise point did rationally planning for the future on the assumption that the next generation isn’t always better off become the province of greedy tax-and-spend socialists, and…
In May, “Liberal Media” Privileged Conservatives by Almost 2 to 1
It was another banner month for the so-called “liberal media” in this country. In May, the opinion pages of 20 of the country’s major English-language newspapers featured a grand total…
Inside Canada’s Rent-an-(Ex)-MP Company
A couple people have written me recently, and one has commented, asking me whether I know much about the entry into Canada of private prison contractor GEO Group, on a…
Further Updates to Open Government Project: Yes, Harper Parliament is More Secretive than Predecessors
A couple weeks after CP spread a nasty and false rumour that Chretien and Martin ran Parliament far more secretively than Stephen Harper does, electronic versions of its hit piece…
When Law Meets Scientific Illiteracy
As I said last week, BC’s new Animal Health Act is crystal clear — unusually clear, which is nice for laypeople like Cabinet ministers and bloggers. Section 1 defines animals…
FedDev Ontario Spends 5% of Grant Program Budget on German Multinational Represented in Ottawa by Conservative Lobbyist
When I first expanded my Pork Barrel study to include audits of individual programs, I said I’d start by working through Minister Diane Finley’s increasingly incompetent HRSDC first. Since then,…
Agriculture Minister Complains that His Staff Don’t Expense As Much to Taxpayers as He Does
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is hopping mad. He put a civil servant in Guelph, one Bill Teeter, in charge of a spending review in Ottawa, had him travel back and…
New BC Draft Legislation Outlaws Phone Books, Pet Store Advertisements, and Media Coverage of Fish Farm Disease Outbreaks
Geek that I am, I may not be the best person to make this recommendation, but if you want to read something truly screwy, you could do worse than checking…
Employment Insurance and the Big Brother State
I’m writing this because I’m once again forced to wonder how small-government “libertarian” conservatives can actually express support for the present government. The new proposal for EI, according to the…
Daily Reading for Thursday
News picks for May 24, 2012. // ]]> Backbench MP opposes government — for a couple of hours — The Honourable Member for Kootenay-Columbia, David Wilks, earned his honorific by…
On Brian Larue and Andrew Prescott
A month or so ago I reported on independent journalist Brian Michel LaRue’s claim that Guelph Conservative activist Andrew Prescott, whose blog can be found here, was actually “Pierre Poutine.”…