One less provincial vote for Senate abolition
Premier Kathleen Wynne is taking the opposite position of what Dalton Mcguinty advocated: instead of abolition, she is for reform of the Senate: Kathleen Wynne, says she sees real value…
Canadian Politics
Down and Out in Harperconia
Sweet tit-humping Christ I’m tired. Tired of the chronic lack of accountability in Ottawa. Of a parliamentary press corps that been for far too long too prissy and timid to…
Down and Out in Harperconia
Sweet tit-humping Christ I’m tired. Tired of the chronic lack of accountability in Ottawa. Of a parliamentary press corps that been for far too long too prissy and timid to…
What a dilemma – what scandal should I follow?
There’s the Rob Ford allegedly smoking crack videotape scandal, the Mike Duffy/Nigel Wright Senate Expenses scandal, the fallout from the Federal Court Court ruling illegal robocalls to suppress vote in…
Tories try new union-bashing gambit to divert attention from their daily scandals, fiascos
Federal Treasury Board President Tony Clement, left, makes Duffygate disappear, while two reporters and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at right, look on. Actual Canadian politicians and media personalities may not…
These photos are just begging to have captions or speech bubbles…
These photos are just begging to have captions or speech bubbles added. What a bunch of crooks and parasites these Conservatives are — all brought to power by cheating, lying…
Some Nice Journalistic Data Visualization – Global’s Crude Awakening
Over at Global, David Skok and his team have created a very nice visualization of the over 28,666 crude oil spills that have happened on Alberta pipelines over the last…
Stayin’ Alive
I really should stop watching American news. I get teevee-yelly. I know I’m not going to change anybody’s mind with this post, but the cat’s getting really skittery with all…
On Senate Reform
Your latest poll from Forum Research on what should be done with the Senate: “More than one third want to abolish the Senate. An additional 37% called for the Senate…
On the Limits of Scandalmongering, or Why I Don’t Care About Rob Ford’s Alleged Crack Use
For all my political ideals and self-conceptualizations, I cannot for the life of me seem to get myself more than superficially interested in the scandals that plague the holders of…
The 1 question to ask Rob (or Doug) Ford I’ve not heard yet
“Mr. Ford: Is this you in the still shot of the video you claim doesn’t exist – Yes or No?” Is this you, Mayor Ford? Has any reporter asked Mayor…
Wildrose deftly defuses robo-call crisis while federal Cons suffer Scotch verdict
Members of the Wildrose Party try out their new robo-calling technology, which should avoid future problems with the CRTC. Right-wing Alberta politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Wildrose…
● “People have got to know whether or not their…
● “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” – disgraced American president Richard Nixon ● “I don’t recall. I…
Not exactly the spotlight we want in Canada
Canada sure has been in the news a lot of late. Unfortunately, it’s about the wrong reasons. The Senate expenses scandal and the subsequent resignation of Nigel Wright made the…
Timeline of Conservatives’ Deeds Against Science
In the Confessions of a Science Librarian blog, John Dupuy writes about the Harper Conservatives’ war against science. He’s logged and linked activities from 2006 to 2013 that show how…
Duffy, the Government and the problem with “no-notes” meetings
So, for my non-canadian readers, there is a significant scandal brewing up here in Canadaland, regarding a senator, who claimed certain expenses he was not allowed to (to the tune…
Harper’s House of Cards Disintegrating Under Weight of Conservative Senators
* We are living in interesting times, as the saying goes. Here in Canada, the house of cards that is the federal Conservative government of Stephen Harper is starting to…
Make voting in federal elections mandatory, but put it on a Saturday or make it an official holiday
On this Victoria Day holiday Monday, I was reading some interesting Twitter tweets from Frank Graves, the President of Ekos Research, one of the polling companies here in Canada. He…
(Prime) ministerial responsibility and all that … surely the wrong man has quit!
The home of Canada’s Parliament, held in contempt by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Reform Party, doing business under the name of the Conservative Party of Canada. Below: former…
On phone polling vs internet panels
An interesting article from the CBC talking with the BC Liberals internal pollster, who predicted a Liberal Majority with 48 seats, and was off by only 2 (and by 2…