No, not that W. While coverage of last night's healthcare announcement might make a man think that the mountain had come to Mohammed, the truth -- as per usual -- is much less to be excited about: Paul Martin caved, in order to get a deal. The man needed a win. It's a lot of money, $18 billion over six years -- there's no doubt about that. But, to put things in perspective, it is -- at most -- about a billion dollars more than the Conservatives had promised over the same amo...

OK, that's a little harsh; a bit of fun on my part. It's some pretty ugly rhetoric -- even in jest -- but likely no worse than what we'll be hearing soon enough on CNN. Last week saw a renewed effort to impugn George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard -- and thereby, his integrity as a whole. This scandal hardly made a ripple, but it may only be a hint of what's to come. Washington has been teeming with rumours that far more sensational charges have already been unearthed. T...

Crossposted at The Blogs Canada E-Group : Are American movement conservatives as intellectually dishonest as they seem? Are their tactics truly -- qualitatively -- different than those of the left? Every once in a while I like to check myself; to test my own intellectual honesty. When I begin to doubt my preconceptions, I imagine what Democrats might do if they chose to employ the same unscrupulous methods. How might bizarro world progressives out do the Machiavellian Rove? ...

Crossposted at The Blogs Canada E-Group : This week, the Republican National Convention began in a manner that can only be described as Rovian . On Monday night, our man 'K' revealed a deep, intellectual understanding of the art of fear -- an understanding that parallels recent work in the field of neuropsychology. At a recent conference on "the political uses and misuses of fear", Al Gore summed up the work of many leading neuroscientists with the phrase "amygdala politics". As ...

Crossposted at The BlogsCanada E-Group: On Monday, Paul Martin finally found time in his busy , post-election schedule for a long overdue meeting with the common folk: opposition leaders. On the docket, his agenda for a new parliament and a new Throne Speech. Frankly, it’s time to start playing hardball -- and with a crucial confidence motion drawing near, New Democrats have got a very heavy bat. Jack Layton has long promised that, in exchange for his support of a Liberal gov...

Crossposted at The BlogsCanada E-Group : Why are they doing this? What are they so afraid of? As many readers will already know, guests at quasi-public Bush-Cheney campaign appearances are now being asked to sign Castro-like loyalty oaths before being granted entrance to rallies. This isn’t just weird, it’s scary. But most importantly, it’s really weird . Which brings us to our first question: Why are they doing this? Such rallies couldn’t be aimed at persuad...

Crossposted at The BlogsCanada E-Group: For too long the Democratic Party was utterly inept in responding to this weary Republican onslaught. They bought the American media's favourite script: Democrats who speak out are never strong, always shrill; those who dissent cannot be motivated by patriotism, only by hatred. Thank God John Kerry didn't fall for that . During the last two weeks, the Bush-Cheney political apparatus has demonstrated that -- like a wounded animal -- it wil...

Does the Bloc really hold Québec's interests above it's own? Is the Conservative Party serious about ending western alienation? Will either party keep their promise to keep their promises ? If the Bloquistes and the Tories have any intention of doing so, they can make it clear by supporting a single issue: proportional representation. More precisely, proportional representation by province . As far as keeping their promises goes, I think this issue is pretty simple:...

Party Vote Seats Liberal 33.0% 109 Conservative 31.0% 113 NDP 20.0% 30 Bloc 12.0% 55 Green 2.5% 0 Other 1.5% 1 The Liberals win more votes, but fewer seats, than the Conservatives. The NDP wins almost twice as many v...

Canada British Columbia Two identical ads, brought to you by the Liberal Party of Canada, except the Canada wide version omits any mention of Kyoto. Is someone scared about losing Oshawa ?

We know all about the NDP's 'tax heavy platform'. We know all about their 'unpopular schemes'. We'll all pay a lot less taxes under a Conservative government, right? After all, The Globe and Mail's told us so, hasn't it? Well, guess what? The sanctimonious corporate shills got it wrong. They got it wrong again , and again , and again . Yesterday the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives -- having bothered to, you know, read -- published a study comparing ...

Easily my favourite ad of the campaign.

Tuesday, June 15th, Leaders' Debate: Jack Layton: "I've got to take issue with a claim you're making, that there's only two parties in this country that are going to have the possibility of governing. What kind of arrogance gives you that kind of proposition?..." Paul Martin: "Well, I think I'll accept that criticism, Mr. Layton." Tuesda, June 22nd, British Columbia: Paul Martin: "There are two parties that could form the next government. If you are thinking of v...

The Green Party is awful . I mean like Ann Coulter, reptilian kitten-eater awful . I can already hear the voices, swooning from the peanut gallery: 'The Green Party? But they're so wonderfully environmental!'. True, the Greens would keep mankind from raping Mother Earth -- but they'd pillage the rest of us to get the job done. This isn't about tired, conservative scare tactics. I'm not talking 'bout how 'dem tree huggers is gonna wreck the economy, and such. No, this is a...

I've refrained from comment on the death of Dr. T. Douglas Kinsella, father of fellow blogger Warren Kinsella. Given that I know Kinsella only by writing and reputation, I suppose I just didn't have much to add to his own words. I feel compelled, however, to make note of those words , and let them speak for themselves.