Will Harper weather his winter?
Calgary, at this time of year, already tastes of winter. And as the Conservative Party gathers for its Halloween convention, there is a bite in the air. The real question…
Federal Politics
Justin Trudeau on the fence.
One of the fun aspects of politics is watching the dance of a politician trying desperately to stay on both sides of an issue. It would have been especially interesting…
Moore is More
To win the leadership, Moore will need to court red Tories in Quebec. Partly due to his one-man government, and partly due to a series of spectacular flame outs among…
A lame duck Harper limps home.
If you have been wondering what Prime Minister Harper is planning for the Conservative Party’s Halloween Convention in Calgary, here is a suggestion. The keynote address is currently scheduled for…
The Hair hypes his legacy.
Is the door to the Airbus A310 wide enough? Is it high enough? Did that inflated head of perfect hair find an easier way to get on the airplane for…
Feeding the Energy Board PAP!
The Enbridge pipeline people have an unfortunate acronym for their public awareness program: PAP. The only problem is that pap is defined in our dictionary as the soft or semi-liquid…
Hair and hairdresser having fun in Brussels.
With the Throne Speech a one-day wonder, the Hair had nothing left to do but head for Brussels. The home of the European Union, Brussels today is more than a…
“The Lowest Price is the Law, Unless Someone Else Offers a Lower Price”
David Johnson reads marketing slogans It’s easy to criticize throne speeches, especially throne speeches by governments that have fallen on tough times. Truth be told, I actually think there was…
A government out of gas.
Listening to the budget reading by the Governor General yesterday was a sad occasion. It reminds you of one of your youngsters who had so much relaxing to do over…
A letter to our Member of Parliament.
Dear Mr. Brown: This is to thank you for sending us the Brown Report, Fall 2013. There is little question that it is from you—in four pages, your picture appears…
How I spent my summer vacation
Summer vacation lasted a bit longer for MPs than for the rest of us. If you’re just tuning back in now as our parliamentarians head back to the House tomorrow,…
“The shape of things to come.”
One of the worst forecasts we ever saw was a Canadian-made, low budget science-fiction movie released in 1979. It was loosely based on H.G. Wells’ book by the same name.…
Be it resolved to rebuild Canada.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is a good day to talk about our hopes for renewing our country. To this end, we are taking Justin Trudeau at his word that he…
Spying is all about business.
If the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) was supposed to be secret, they forgot to tell us. After more than 30 years of relaxed access to most aspects of government…
Harper is dumb on diplomacy.
Here he has his own Airbus A310, his own hairdresser, a plane full of lackeys to do his bidding and Prime Minister Stephen Harper still gives the back of his…
NDP’s Mulcair is looking for love.
Federal New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair has taken a shine to tar sands economics. He has joined with Stephen Harper’s Conservatives who seem titillated with the sexual suggestiveness of having…
Energy East ads for nought?
This takes some analysis. TransCanada Pipelines is delaying the application for its Energy East Pipeline until next year. This is a major delay for the company. Even if TransCanada does…
Soul searching for solace.
For the first time in over a year, Babel-on-the-Bay skipped posting for one day last week. Readership plummeted. There was a technical problem. It was solved with the purchase of…
Harrying the Hair on his holiday.
Is this fair? Here is the Hair having a relaxed prorogation vacation and he is being harried by his supposedly tame news media. Damn it all, you give the television…
Gun lobby takes aim at Baird.
Do you remember the old children’s song If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise? If you are expecting a teddy bear’s picnic, you…