It Could Happen to You

Sask Party MLA calls NDP MLA "Dumb Bitch" in the House

Right-wing Saskatchewan Party MLA Mike Chisholm was speaking in the House this week and he made an pretty derogatory remark to one of the Female NDP MLA's.

I quote from Hansard:

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Mr. Chisholm: — Mr. Chair, those last comments were completely inappropriate for this committee, and I understand they should be withdrawn . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . You're calling somebody lazy and you think that's okay? Maybe we have to look at the Hansard on that one too, Deb, dumb bitch.

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The "Deb" he is referring to is Deb Higgins, the NDP MLA from Moose Jaw.

Check out the handy YouTube clip:



Now, I don't want to make too big a deal about this, both sides of the House cross the line from time-to-time, but this language is fairly unacceptable. I have no doubt that a apology was issued but still, I think this speaks to the Sask Party's bigger issue - their attitude towards women.

Update: Not only was there an apology but Chisholm has resigned from his position as a Legislative Secretary:

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Michael Chisholm, a Saskatchewan Party MLA for Cut Knife-Turtleford, has resigned as a legislative secretary after calling the NDP's Deb Higgins "a dumb bitch."

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Sask Liberals lean to the Right

Or so says the headline in this leader-post story.

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The Saskatchewan Liberal Party has begun a period of introspection after party candidates were shut out for a second consecutive provincial election last November. And, suggestions emerged Saturday the party could be nudging toward more right-wing ideals.

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That's right, return to the glory days of Thatcher, nothing like 40-year-old discredited ideas.

Of course, that would be a step up for the Liberals in Saskatchewan. They are the only group I know that with one elected official (federally or provincially) out of 74 and having gone zero for 4 in the last 4 provincial by-elections and election, that can make a virtue of their looserdom:

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"We have one of those unique windows in the life of a political party where you don't have the baggage of the past and you really have a clean slate." - Ryan Androsoff

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Good job Prairie fire, good job. :-)

Minister of Labour Rob Norris

Wow! This is harsh even by Mr. Mandryk's standards:

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If it truly was the New Democrats' goal to portray Norris as pompous and idiotic in this committee, their greatest ally in this effort has been Norris himself.

Deliberately adopting a speaking style reminiscent of William Shatner on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Norris has blithered on about Plato, Aristotle and dead trees casting a shadow on the province. No metaphor has gone untortured.

But while Norris's petulance in committee has served no purpose other than to annoy, insult and demean, it may be unfair to single him out

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So to summarize, Norris is pompous, idiotic, blithering, annoying, insulting and demeaning.

Sounds about right

Saskatchewan Green-Liberal Merger?

You know you are not doing so well as a political party when the greens try to buy you out.

The Greens!

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What was far most interesting was that the Greens used the occasion to officially serve notice they'd like to see a formal merger with the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan.

[snip]

Interim Liberal president Frank Proto was quick to note in an interview Tuesday that this isn't the first time he's heard such overtures since the November election.

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Needless to say, this isn't getting a super warm reception from John Murney. I would link to other Saskatchewan Liberal Blog reactions, but I don't know any.

On Blogs and Lawsuits

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"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."

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Wole SOYINKA

Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, and political activist (1934-)

So my blogging associate Lance has shut down the SaskBlogs aggregator, a service that benefited all of the Saskatchewan bloggers. I understand his reasons and I accept that he felt he had to do what he did but it really too bad.

This all stems from a lawsuit that has been launched against Small Dead Animals. Now my readers will know that I have gone of the way, on many, many occasions on this blog to try to discredit and attack Kate and her blog (and Lance has come in for his fair share of criticism as well)

But this is an attack on free speech. It is easy to defend free speech when it is something that you like, it takes some guts to defend the speech that you hate.

So let it be said, at least here, (even if that is meaningless), Kate, Lance and all others should have the right to say whatever they want on their blogs without threat of lawsuit or any other legal interference from the state or the public.

Kate, Lance, I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it. For what it is worth (and I know it is not worth much) you have my support in this matter.

gpm

Saskatchewan Fillibuster

Leader Post

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By early evening Monday, NDP MLA Kevin Yates had spoken for three hours on the motion and was still going strong

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What the hell is going on in Saskatchewan these days! First the tape and now the legislature is being ground to a halt with a fillibuster.

The first session for the Saskatchewan Party is looking a bit disastrous.

Does 17-year old dirt matter?

I find it interesting that the only defense for the Brad Wall/Tom Lukiwski thing is "but, but but...it was 17-years ago, who cares? Move on."

Except the Sask Party are the masters of dredging up 17-year-old dirt:

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In 1992, then NDP caucus employee Ann Lord (Ann Davey) wrote a letter to NDP caucus chair MLA Glenn Hagel and NDP Caucus Chief of Staff Jim Fodey detailing how she had defrauded the caucus office by inflating cheques payable to her.

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Where were all the people who are defending Tom and Brad today with the 17-years-ago defense back then?

Oh that's right, they were screaming for blood.

Unless you can point to comments you made last year about the NDP 16-years-ago-scandal condemning the Sask Party for dredging up the past: then shut the hell up about 17-years-ago today.

Full 24-Minute Saskatchewan Scandal Video

The Highlights (With Video time in front)

2:56 Tom Lukiwski's Homophobic Comments

[Tom Lukiwksi is the Member of Parliament for Regina Lumsden Lake Center]

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, as we say in tour, I may be old, but I’m fucking A, eh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is this A person?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, quit talking about Jeff like that.

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, John Bergen and I had a little discussion and I’d like to tell you that it’s going to be out in our campaign literature real soon, watch for it (INAUDIBLE).


5:20 Letter Bomb (With a Sexual Innuendo Interlude)

[Kathy Young is the Director of Communications for the Saskatchewan Party Government
She is also involved important messages involving labour legislation and other labour issues being debated in the Saskatchewan Legislature right now]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you writing, Kim?

KIM: I’m writing –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: F-words.

KIM: Oops, I said, Tom, I tried to think of something witty, but what the fuck, happy birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very blurry handwriting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our friends and union leaders.

KATHY YOUNG: George Rosseneau, Barb Byers are big friends of mine personally.

[snip]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let’s see here. What have we got going on on this screen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You’re talking about –

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it’s top secret.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That’s right. We’re talking about friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’d show you, but then we’d have to kill you.

KATHY YOUNG: We’re writing this union speech to the red union leaders, George Rosseneau. We have threatened his life two times, and what else?

KATHY YOUNG: Oh, we sent a bomb to Barb Byers --

[Barb Byers is the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, having been (at the time of the video) at the helm of the SGEU through the turbulent years of the scandal-ridden Conservative government of Grant Devine]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We --

KATHY YOUNG: Byers, a letter bomb to Barb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.


7:20 Some Astute Political Analysis

[The results of the 1991 Saskatchewan election? The tories lost almost three-quarters of the seats they had held in the legislature and a significant share of the popular vote. Final Seat Count? 10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’re going to win 42 seats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win – how many did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win 42 at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think? (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many do you think we will win?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, take your best shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know very much about politics. How much –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How’d you get your job? Who do you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I’m going right now to visit him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. I know a lot, but not a lot of – not a lot of about that.


8:00 First Lynda Comment

[Lynda Haverstock was is the former leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and was the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 2000 until 2006.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I predict that Grant Devine will smash the living dog shit out of that spineless political playboy and kick the balls right off of that hard-headed slut Lynda.


8:40 Second Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Lynda’s balls?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s going to be tight. I don’t think Lynda has balls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, big ones, big chubby suckers like this.


11:00 Tom Again

TOM LUKIWSKI: We want to tell you exactly what we think from the tour
standpoint. We think the tour is going fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: And we think the debate’s going to go fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And predictions for the outcome of the election?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, we think the Tories are going to do fucking A.

OTHERS: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: We’re kind of stuck on that, you know.

[You are sure "stuck" now Tom.]


11:50 John Scraba makes an Appearance

[John Scraba is the architect of the tory fraud scandal in Saskatchewan. In what is easily the biggest political scandal in Saskatchewan's history, no fewer than 12 members of Devine's government were charged in relation to a scheme that defrauded taxpayers of more than $837,000.]

JOHN SCRABA: You’re tipped sideways there, that’s okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, well, I’ll just get it that way then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, you’re in a proper frame here. I got it right. Here we go.
All right. Now, do you have comments on the debate, sir?

JOHN SCRABA: Certainly. We haven’t seen it yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, what do you predict?

JOHN SCRABA: Oh, predict an overwhelming victory and defeat for the other
socialist hordes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you predict on the outcome of the election?

JOHN SCRABA: And urinate on their remains while we’re at it.


13:20 Third Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you know, all you got to do is let Lynda talk long enough
and she makes a fucking idiot out of herself, that’s all I have to say.


13:36 Joan Berston Making very odd comments

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something profound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s either black or white. It’s either – just a minute. Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did he win this bitch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white. You have to do your eyes like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, oh, oh,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you have to have big lips and (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Ms. --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white.


15:10 Former Senator Berston makes an appearance

[Eric Brentson was the Tory Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 and was Deputy Premier in the Devine government. In 1999, Bernston was convicted of illegally diverting government allowances for polling purposes between 1987 and 1991 when he was Saskatchewan's deputy premier. He was sentenced to one year in prison.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Berntson, do you have a reaction tonight?

ERIC BERNSTON: Well, number one, I’m not Senator Berntson. I’m an anonymous guy that –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s with the government and he’s here to help.

ERIC BERNSTON: that doesn’t know anything about any of this stuff, so all I’ll say is fucking A.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So don’t quote me on it.

ERIC BERNSTON: No, don’t quote me, yeah.

(INAUDIBLE)


16:00 Regan Rap

[Good Stuff]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have.

BRAD WALL: “Well, I’m the big gipper, don’t mess with me. I’m the baddest rapper this side of DC with my best girl Nancy as my spouse,rappin’ to you from that big white house. B-b-b-b Bonzo, b-b-b-b Bonzo.” That’s the white house rap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool.


16:40 Brad Becomes the Camera Man

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The zoom should be right on there.

BRAD WALL: It should be on the trigger somewhere. Push.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, here it is, right here. Your zoom is right here, Brad --

BRAD WALL: Oh, yeah.


19:00 Ken Azzopardi And the 4th Linda Comment

[Ken Assopardi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they’re busy in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken Azzopardi and his – and his future of Saskatchewan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what Ken’s – what does he think about Lynda? This is Ken. He (INAUDIBLE) big time stuff, big time stuff.

[Holds up Lingerie catalog with women's read ends]


20:50 Ken doing up his pants and Reds rant

KEN AZZOPARDI: I’m doing up my –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s doing up –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the light’s on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The light is on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s my first opportunity to look into this campaign. Fuck you all. We won tonight.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Well, you know, I was just talking to a guy and there’s four reds there at his house. He’s ours. He has four reds at his house and the reds think the reds – the City of Regina reds who said Lynda won --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, give me –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On abortion, abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they say that because they want them to say it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, no, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abortion.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Lynda won and Romanow was the big loser. For a red that’s a major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lynda made –

JOAN BERNTSON: She made one statement on abortion, you know. She made one statement on abortion earlier, but I can’t remember what it was, but it was everyone in Saskatchewan cares about the lives --


21:90 Brad Stops being Camera Man, just in time to give us: Brad's Ukranian impression

KATHY YOUNG: The Premier versus Haverstick (sic) and –

BRAD WALL: Let me tell you something. I watched that in – I watched that in Preeceville. I watched that debate and I’ll tell you this, I never – I never seen Grant Devine – I – I will never – I never voted for Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: I never voted for him, but I –

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: Before. I see him on TV tonight after Helen fixed me dinner and I tell you I like Grant Devine. Roy Romanow got his head up his ass . I don’t even know how he walks upright with his head so far up his ass and I’ll you --

KATHY YOUNG: Mr. (INAUDIBLE), how do you think he walks --

BRAD WALL: I’m not – I’m not kidding. So the bottom line is this –

UNIDENTIFIED MAILE: Why you talking like that?

BRAD WALL: I’m voting – I’m going to vote. I’m voting and the guy that I will vote for – who I’m voting for – marking my ballot to vote is Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: And you –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I thought it was good. Oh, Curtis

Saskatchewan MP makes Homophobic Comments

Tom Lukiwski:

"Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases."


hat tip blogging a dead horse

Small Dead Animals Denouced by Sask Premier

Take a look at this link Where KKKate talks about the Station 20 issue in Saskatoon:

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Dear Saskatoon Inner City;

If those of you in the "left behind during an economic boom community" want a grocery store in your neighborhood, the following economic stimuli are guaranteed to produce one a lot more quickly than a government funded "free" dental clinic and housing project:

1. Put the cap back on your used needle and take it to a safe disposal site. Failing that, share it with your friends. It's a quicker solution to your problem, anyway.

2. Cross your legs.

3. Put down the spray can.

4. BINGO!

And no, I don't have any change. There's a McDonalds over on 22nd where the average kid working behind the counter is a 55 year old women. I doubt they're pushing you out of the job market.

On second thought, maybe they are.

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This has been found to be offensive by none other than Brad Wall, the Premier of Saskatchewan:

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Reporter: What do you say today about the small dead animal blog...?

Brad Wall: Those are intolerant and unacceptable remarks and I had known for some time in Opposition we had an endorsement on our website referencing myself and I think that's been removed, and if it hasn't it will be shortly.

Reporter: Why?

Brad Wall: Because those comments are just simply unacceptable, and I'm not sure what direct relationship there is between an endorsement and those comments except that that individual and the website, if those words are reflective of their view, I would like not to be on our caucus website.

Reporter: In the past, members of your caucus in Opposition have cited that website, have mentioned her, spoken approvingly I would say generally of her judging by the tone of it, will you ask them not to do things like that?

Brad Wall: Well, on certain issues, on that website and others, there's, you know, when it comes to economic cases to be made, issues, those have been agreed with by members of our caucus, by myself. This is beyond the pale in terms of what is acceptable, and so, the website's been changed as of right now, and I don't expect to hear anytime soon Saskatchewan Party members in the House referencing the site.

Reporter: Is this person involved in your party at all, does she help you and would she be welcome to do so?

Brad Wall: She's been pretty clear, although, well, I think she's been clear, I guess I'm not sure of this, but I don't think she's been or has any intention of being a member of the party. We would want to have members of the Saskatchewan Party who don't take such a view with respect to people who live in core neighborhoods in the province.

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hat tip Sean

3AM Girl From Hillary's Ad, Makes Obama Ad

Girl In Hillary's 3 A.M. Ad Is Supporting...Obama!

Good stuff!

Obama is awesome. How awesome is he...?

Hope vs. Fear

Clinton:

Obama:

Hillary and the Movie "Election"

Bwah!

Bush now has worst poll numbers of any President

There is rapidly becoming little dispute that Bush is the Worst President Ever:

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George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has dropped to a new low in American Research Group polling as 78% of Americans say that the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group.

Among all Americans, 19% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 77% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 14% approve and 79% disapprove.

Among Americans registered to vote, 18% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 78% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 15% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 79% disapprove.

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Is this guy for real?

Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri blames earthquakes on homosexuals.

A Modest Proposal

Currently (no pun intended) about 5% of the energy being generated by SaskEnery is wind power. This may not seem like a lot, but it enough to power 7,000 homes.

What about solar?

I have talked about this before, but more and more projects are starting to be designed and proposed that make this a serious alternative.

the latest?

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The technology is ready. On the following pages we present a grand plan that could provide 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy (which includes transportation) with solar power by 2050. We project that this energy could be sold to consumers at rates equivalent to today’s rates for conventional power sources, about five cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). If wind, biomass and geothermal sources were also developed, renewable energy could provide 100 percent of the nation’s electricity and 90 percent of its energy by 2100.

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Yes, there would need to be a substantial investment by SaskEnergy, and that would come at the expense of dividends turned over to the province, but really, the NDP left a massive surplus for the Sask Party government to deal with.

And surly this is a better use of money than nuclear. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not in the norm in my party in that I am not philosophically opposed to a nuclear option, but for the same (or lower) investment that was made in wind power for the last 5 years, if SaskEnergy could just set a target of 10% solar-generated electricity, say in 7-10 years, then combined with wind we would have 15% renewable resources.

Add in co-generation, poly-generation and biomass projects and soon we could be looking at 1 in 4 MW being "green"

Now that is a modest proposal

Blogging Problems

My heart just doesn't seem to be in the whole blogging thing these days. I have been following the American election with a great deal of interest and have made a number of posts, but I find it harder and harder to get motivated to blog each day.

I am still getting about 40 hits a day (even with almost no new posts) so I sort of feel compelled to keep going, if only out of thanks for the audience that I have built up over the last year.

I will try to put some more new content here soon, I promise.

Eisenhower Endorses Obama

It's like the entire 50's and 60's are coming back to endorse Obama:

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Forty-seven years ago, my grandfather Dwight D. Eisenhower bid farewell to a nation he had served for more than five decades. In his televised address, Ike famously coined the term "military-industrial complex," and he offered advice that is still relevant today. "As we peer into society's future," he said, we "must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow."

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Ann Coulter says she will support Clinton over McCain

Apparently Clinton is the true conservative choice:

Why Obama gets the Youth Vote

Interesting story:

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While enthusiastic Democrats of all ages produced a 90% increase in turnout for the first caucuses, the number of young voters was up half again as much: 135%. The kids preferred Obama over the next-closest competitor by more than 4 to 1.

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Obama is the only candidate in either party who is viewed favorably by a majority of young people, and he has half again as much support as his nearest competitor, Democrat or Republican.

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In South Carolina, Obama drew more under-30 votes than all Republican candidates combined, according to exit polls.

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If you want to feel old, just tell a group of teenagers today that you can remember a time when the Clintons were hip. There was this guy on TV, see, called Arsenio Hall, and Bill Clinton went on wearing sunglasses and playing a saxophone, and, well, no, it wasn't on YouTube — this was before most people had heard of the Internet — oh, never mind. There's nothing new, for today's young people, about a Clinton replacing a Bush.

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His campaign is crawling with cool young people, and the candidate fits right in. We've yet to see Obama flustered or harried; instead, he gives off the enigmatic Zen confidence of the guy who is picked first for every game.

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He tells young people they can make a difference, and they decide to vote, thus making a difference. "Hope is the thing with feathers," as Emily Dickinson put it, and if Obama can make it fly, it can have deep implications in a society primed to follow the passions of youth.

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When young people get involved, they tend to stay involved. The graybeards of today's Democratic Party were once the inspired youth of the New Frontier, or Clean for Gene McCarthy, or bell-bottomed foot soldiers for George McGovern. Scan the crowd at an Obama rally, squint, and you just might see the future.

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The Difference Between Obama and Clinton Summarized

This is a telling section of this story:

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When Bush proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt,” Clinton sprang to her feet in applause but Obama remained firmly seated. The president’s line divided most of the Democratic audience, with nearly half standing to applaud and the other half sitting in stony silence.

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Bah.

Bush at all-time low (again) in polls

The economy and the war in Iraq have brought President Bush's approval numbers to 32% in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll -- the lowest rating of his career for this poll.

Where the press release tells us, "Just 32 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove," that's about all we get about it. But the actual breakdown of those responses is very telling. You can look at the full report (PDF) here. Respondents were asked, "Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?" The responses worked out this way:

-Strongly approve: 16%
-Somewhat approve: 16%
-Somewhat disapprove: 15%
-Strongly disapprove: 51%

In other words a majority of Americans strongly disapprove of Bush. Not since Truman has that been the case and these low numbers for Bush have been stuck there for months (since last pril when he tied Truman for low numbers)

Super Tuesday won't finish the race

There is an interesting analysis here about the proportion of delegates that the Democratic Contenders might get based on polling numbers.

The conclusion?

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If these numbers hold true, and the candidates split the remaining 350 delegates which the polling doesn't account for, the Democratic primary season seems likely to continue well beyond February 5th. The fact that 20% of all delegates come in the form of superdelegates means that a candidate would have to amass more than 62% of the delegates awarded during primaries to secure the nomination without help from superdelegates.

...

Further complicating matters is the fact that Democrats don't hold winner-take-all primaries, making a breakaway lead in delegates by any one candidate very hard to accomplish. Moreover, Edwards continues to make clear his intentions to stay in the race through the convention -- knowing that a few hundred delegates might swing the nomination to either Clinton or Obama -- putting him in the position of "kingmaker". While serious momentum swings are possible in the lead-up to Super Tuesday which could strongly tilt the race to one candidate, there's no hint of it. And since both Clinton and Obama continue to be able to fundraising at very high levels, this race is giving every indication that we should settle in for one of the longer primaries battles in a generation.

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This seems to agree with the Associated Press analysis here:

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Don't look to crown any presidential nominees on Super Tuesday. The race for delegates is so close in both parties that it is mathematically impossible for any candidate to lock up the nomination on Feb. 5, according to an Associated Press analysis of the states in play that day.

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We could be in for a loner race than most.

Why the Manely Report is Misguided

This article is more about Iraq than Afghanistan, but there are some telling similarities.

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Events have (yet again) reached a turning point. There, at the far end of the tunnel, light flickers. Despite the hand-wringing of the defeatists and naysayers, victory beckons.

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Not true.

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By shifting the conversation to tactics, they seek to divert attention from flagrant failures of basic strategy. Yet what exactly has the surge wrought? In substantive terms, the answer is: not much.

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Same with Manley's discussion about 2000 more troops. this is just a surge by any other name.

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A nation-building project launched in the confident expectation that the United States would repeat in Iraq the successes it had achieved in Germany and Japan after 1945 instead compares unfavorably with the U.S. response to Hurricane Katrina. Even today, Iraqi electrical generation meets barely half the daily national requirements. Baghdad households now receive power an average of 12 hours each day -- six hours fewer than when Saddam Hussein ruled.

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And so on...

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In short, the surge has done nothing to overturn former secretary of state Colin Powell's now-famous "Pottery Barn" rule: Iraq is irretrievably broken, and we own it. To say that any amount of "kicking ass" will make Iraq whole once again is pure fantasy. The U.S. dilemma remains unchanged: continue to pour lives and money into Iraq with no end in sight, or cut our losses and deal with the consequences of failure.

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Again, replace "Iraq" with Afghanistan and the comparison is startling.

How far they have come

Which presidential candidate do the Bush people like?

Hmmm....Think there's an election coming in Alberta?

Albertans for Change http://albertansforchange.com/

Ads - now running on television.

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365 Days left of Bush

On January 20, 2009 a new president will be sworn in.

Thank god.

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Beset by growing economic concerns on top of the long unpopular war in Iraq, President Bush starts the last year of his presidency with the worst approval rating of his career.

...

Bush is just two months away from Truman's record of 38 months without majority approval -- far beyond any other.

...

Intensity of sentiment, moreover, remains very heavily against the president. Fifty-one percent strongly disapprove of his work overall, while just 16 percent strongly approve -- strongly negative by better than a 3-1 ratio.

...

Among those who disapprove of the war, Bush's approval rating is 12 percent; "wrong track," 91 percent.

...

Republican self-identification has moved back down, to an average of 25 percent across 2007 -- its lowest yearlong average since 1984.

...

Bush is at career lows in approval in three groups as well as overall -- among liberals (9 percent approve of his work), moderates (24 percent) and independents -- the center of American politics -- among whom just 25 percent approve.

---

Can't wait for him to finally be gone.

I'm Impressed

This lady not only graduated with a degree in cybernetic engineering, but she went on to become the managing director of the "Ukrainian Oil" corporation and then, oh yeah, became the Prime Minister of Ukraine - Yulia Tymoshenko

No wonder she is #3 on Forbes list of the 100 most influential women.

Canada is 10th Happiest Country

According to Business Week magazine:

---

According to Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist at Leicester who developed the first "World Map of Happiness," Denmark is the happiest nation in the world.

White's research used a battery of statistical data, plus the subjective responses of 80,000 people worldwide, to map out well-being across 178 countries. Denmark and five other European countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and Iceland, came out in the top 10, while Zimbabwe and Burundi pulled up the bottom.

Not surprisingly, the countries that are happiest are those that are healthy, wealthy, and wise. "The most significant factors were health, the level of poverty, and access to basic education," White says.

---

Each country gets its own page, here is Canada

---

Canada may sometimes feel overshadowed by its giant neighbor to the south, but a strong sense of national identity and abundant natural beauty help make the sprawling and sparsely populated country one of the world's happiest. Canada also punches above its weight economically, with a huge $1.1 trillion GDP and per-capita that ranks among the world's highest. It also has strong health care and a low crime rate.

---

Take that, Ireland.

Mad TV iPod Commercial

Great Stuff!

Rolling Stone savages Rudy Giuliani

An excerpt from the full story:

---

Rudy Giuliani is a true American hero, and we know this because he does all the things we expect of heroes these days -- like make $16 million a year, and lobby for Hugo Chávez and Rupert Murdoch, and promote wars without ever having served in the military, and hire a lawyer to call his second wife a "stuck pig," and organize absurd, grandstanding pogroms against minor foreign artists, and generally drift through life being a shameless opportunist with an outsize ego who doesn't even bother to conceal the fact that he's had a hard-on for the presidency since he was in diapers. In the media age, we can't have a hero humble enough to actually be one; what is needed is a tireless scoundrel, a cad willing to pose all day long for photos, who'll accept $100,000 to talk about heroism for an hour, who has the balls to take a $2.7 million advance to write a book about himself called Leadership. That's Rudy Giuliani. Our hero. And a perfect choice to uphold the legacy of George W. Bush.

---

Who won the New Hampshire Primary?

If you define "win" as "gets the most delegates for the convention" - which is the point after all - then you have an interesting situation:

---

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama each won nine delegates in New Hampshire's Democratic primary, followed by former Sen. John Edwards with 4 delegates, an AP analysis of primary results shows. All 22 of New Hampshire's delegates to the national convention this summer have been allocated.

Clinton and Obama won the same number of delegates, even though Clinton edged Obama in votes, because New Hampshire awards delegates proportionally, and the vote was relatively close.

---

So by my count that is 1.5 for Obama and .5 for Clinton.

Huckabee vs. Rick Mercer

Remember Rick Mercer's "Talking with Americans"?



Just watch the first minute and a half - Governor Mike Huckabee talks about Canada's igloo capital.

Carbon Tax vs. Cap and Trade

So the federal Conservatives are rejecting the recommendation for a carbon tax:

---

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a panel of Canadian experts from environmental groups and the business world, concluded that Canada could achieve a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by acting as soon as possible with measures that would put a price on activities that result in the release of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
...
Although the Harper government asked the round table for its advice in 2006, Environment Minister John Baird quickly dismissed the carbon tax proposal as a "Liberal idea," explaining that he had already addressed the concerns raised in the report by introducing a new federal green plan that sets a price on carbon emissions.

---

They (the cons) are now proposing a Cap and Trade system:

---

Baird has rejected all criticism of his government's plan from independent research groups, economists and environmentalists, insisting he would stick with a plan to limit the growth of pollution from large industries instead of forcing them to make absolute reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions.
...
The government has not finalized regulations for industry, but it has pledged to deliver them in 2008 to start up a new domestic cap and trade system, along with a technology fund.

---

I actually don't think the NDP should be critical of this, I think they should be supportive. After all, it is what they have called for:

---

Give fair notice to large emitters that, starting in 2008, permissible emissions will be capped and the cap will be annually reduced with an eventual goal of a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Introduce a market-based auction for available emission credits in 2009, with credits divided among sectors. At the outset, the auction will cover less than 10 per cent of available credits, with a goal of all emission credits sold by auction by 2030. Proceeds from the sale of emission credits will go to sustainability projects.

---

Note the date of June 20th, 2006. The NDP was ahead of this bandwagon and should be congratulating the conservatives on having seen the light and having come on side.


BTW, I happen to think a cap and trade system makes a lot of sense, both environmentaly and economically, So do the union of concerned scientists, read more here.

This sums up our approach to Africa

Uninvolved indeed.

The NSA has alwas been horrible for eavesdropping

An interesting story here

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For decades, the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been reading effortlessly ultra sensitive messages intercepted from all parts of the world. This extraordinary feat was not the consequence of the work of some genius cyber mathematician. Nor was it the result of the agency dominance in the field of super computers, which allegedly have outpaced their most direct rivals by orders of magnitude. The truth is far simpler and quite troubling. The game was rigged.

---

This is a classic example of why single-source encryption should not be trusted:

---

A decade after the end of WWII, the NSA, also known as No Such Agency, had rigged the Crypto AG machines in various ways according to the targeted countries. It is probably no exaggeration to state that this 20th century version of the "Trojan horse" is quite likely the greatest sting in modern history.

---

I'm Back

Early December, Late December, Early January, it's all the same, right?

meh.

I did a lot of blogging during the provincial election and then I needed a break. But I am back now and will be making my 2-3 posts a week regular schedule.

Starting tomorrow. :-)

Blogging Break

I will be taking a break from blogging for a couple of weeks. Check back in early December.

Does this explain the comment trolls?

Interesting article:

---

New Scientist has a psychological explanation for poor behavior online. Whilst the post talks mainly about email, NewScientist draws the relationship between this and comment trolls.

---

Very interesting.

Who's big and who's small?

Interesting...


Read about it here

Cabinet Predictions by the Big Shots

Although I may have misspelled "shots" when talking about Mandryk (The "o" should possibly be an "i"):

---

Premier-designate Brad Wall will unveil his first cabinet in primetime on Wednesday.

Wall simply does not have the diversity in his caucus he needs to form a well-rounded cabinet.

And what of the seven remaining original founders of the Sask. Party (Ken Krawetz, Rod Gantefoer, June Draude, Don Toth, Boyd, Bjornerud and D'Autremont) who surely have a claim to a cabinet job, based on past contributions? What about other long-time personal friends like Ken Cheveldayoff and Wayne Elhard and even Don McMorris?

If you appease all these stalwarts, how much room do you have for new faces in a cabinet you already said would be no bigger than 18 members?

First, despite all the rumours that D'Autremont, Draude and Bjornerud might not get in, Wall has proven to be incredibly loyal. That means the aforementioned founding guard of the party will have a good shot at cabinet. It would also make sense for him to put the ex-Liberals in the social portfolios, so don't be surprised to see Gantefoer in health, Krawetz in education and Draude in social services (or community resources, as it's now called) or First Nations relations.

Ultimately, though, Wall's problem is a familiar one for an incoming government with virtually no governing experience.

It just doesn't seem quite ready for primetime.

---

What's Brad going to do with the CUPE Strikers?

For those of you joining us from outside Saskatchewan, a quick catch-up:

---

As the strike by the province's 2,400 university support staff enters its 13th day today there is no sign of a break in stalled contract talks.

---

I am hearing from some interesting sources that Wall and Co. are looking at appointing a binding arbitrator for the dispute.

This would be a very interesting fist move by the Sask Party. It would send a signal to the labour movement that the Sask Party is serious about changing the labour-relations dynamic in this province.

This sort of move would be popular with the Sask Party base and only really piss-off trade unionists (who didn't exactly support them to begin with.)

Now, what would be a serious over-reaction by a rookie government would be to legislate these people back to work, THAT would be a sign that they are going to do exactly what the NDP always said the Sask Party would do: Declare war on organized labour.

This story bears watching....

Saskatchewan Cabinet Predictions

So Sean and John are starting the whole "guess who is in the new cabinet" game so I guess i will play too.

Firs off, I would agree that the cabinet will be smaller than the 16-18 of the Calvert years, but probably not as small as the 10 to 12 that John figures. I think 12-14 is the most likely.

So let's say 14 for the sake of this.

First off you need regional representation. I figure at least 2 from Regina and Saskatoon and 1from Moose Jaw and 1 from Prince Albert. Then you need your small urban's (So Estevan, Weyburn, Humboldt, Yorkton, Meadow Lake, Swift Current (obviously)) I would say you need 2-3 of those so let's say 2 other than Brad. So that is 9 all told so far.

Then you need some female representation. Luckily, you have some overlap with Regina and Humboldt out of the list above. But you are going to need more than just 2-3. I figure you need at least 5. So that puts Draude in for sure (Now we are up to 10) And you probably want Heppner in as well. Then either Wilson or Eagles

This then creates a problem. You only have 2-3 seats left for all the hardcore people from opposition. You have to include Boyd and Kravetz so that only leaves one (at best).

Let's recap:

Wall - Male - Small Urban (Swift Current)
Kravetz - Male - Rural
Hickie - Male - Prince Albert
Michelson - Male - Moose Jaw
Heppner - Female - Rural
Draude - Female - Rural
Huchinson - Male - Regina
Ross/Tell - Female - Regina
Morgan - Male - Saskatoon
Chevy/Norris/LeClerk - Male - Saskatoon [If he is smart he will pick Norris]
Harpauer - Female - Small Urban (Humboldt)
Boyd - Male - Rural
Eagles - Female - Small Urban (Estevan)

This gives you:

Small urban - 3
MJ - 1
PA - 1
Sasktoon - 2
Regina - 2
Rural 4

and
Male - 8
Female - 5

He could easily fit a rural female (Nadine Wilson) in there but that is the only easy demographic fit.

But look at who is being left out:

Don McMorris
Dan D'Autremont
Rod Gantafore
Bob Bjornerud
Wayne Elhard
Lyle Stewart

That was pretty much the front bench of the current Saskatchewan Party (Plus Chevy, Wall, Morgan and Kravetz) and he might leave Chevy out too.

Plus, do you want to leave nutjobs like Serge LeClerk and Jeremy Harrison on the outside ? (pissing inwards)

Mr. Wall is facing the first problem of moving over to government: cabinet selection.

It will be instructive to see how he handles it.

Note that this is all assuming that Wall cares about regional and gender parity, if he wants to just throw those ideas out the window then it would make his life better - in the short run. For example, I won't be surprised if some of the women that I have listed above get dropped to placate the old-boy's club.

Saskatchewan Party's True Colors Starting to Show

Just ask the media.

It starts out with Brad Wall's Childhood:

---

If there was any indication Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall had a political future, it could be his childhood interest in the board game Poleconomy ... the game with the not-so-catchy title, initially launched in Canada with the support of the Fraser Institute think-tank.

---

And then there is the whole "promises, shmomises" angle:

---

Saskatchewan is now a "have" province, enjoying a prolonged commodity boom. Could its economy use any help? Actually, yes. Unfortunately, what it needs most, the SaskParty promised not to deliver: wide-scale privatization...With a booming economy at his back, Mr. Wall should spend some political capital and dare to aim high--even if it means breaking a campaign promise or two.

---

And then there is oil royalties:

---

Saskatchewan‘s current tax for extracting oil is considered less generous to oil companies than Alberta‘s, but Saskatchewan‘s premier-designate Brad Wall says he‘d like to change that

---

The Pulp Mill deal:

---

Saskatchewan's new government plans to re-examine a multimillion-dollar plan to redevelop a pulp mill in the northern city of Prince Albert.

---

Tilma? check:

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It may have been Mr. Calvert's NDP that copped its right-wing-phobic campaign strategies from federal campaigns like Mr. Martin's. ... The Prime Minister has already begun throwing Ottawa's muscle behind traditional federal priorities: developing infrastructure and fostering interprovincial economic harmony by promoting east-west trade, a single market regulator and harmonized sales taxes, while backing away from centralized social policies.

---

Planning a purge of the civil service:

---

But the need for change goes beyond the need for fresh thinking and fresh thinkers. After one term in office, a government seldom has a strong grasp on its levers. After two, it should have. After three, it becomes difficult to tell the government apart from its bureaucracy. Prejudices harden, constituencies of entitlement-holders and -seekers form, the polity comes to have interests so vested that dissent is weakened. In short, it's unhealthy, as even Albertans appear to be starting to realize.

---

The media is already starting to lay the groundwork for Brad and Co. to rip off that sheep's clothing and reveal the wolf.

Election Predictions Review

We will start with the broad predictions and work into the narrow ones:

My most recent final numbers:

Sask Party: 31 - 36
NDP: 24-29
Liberals: 0

So I was off by about 4 seats. the NDP only got 20 (but three are waiting for absentee ballots to come in) So yeah, I was wrong by less than 30 votes in three ridings.

Specific Seats that I was Right/Wrong in:

1) Moose Jaw North

I predicted an NDP hold, but the Sask Party won by 30 votes (This is one of the absentee ones)
This one was a major upset for the NDP and I did not see it coming

2) Regina Wascana Plains.

I predicted this one would switch over.

3) Regina South.

Everyone said this one would go to the Sak Party and I said no way. I was wrong. the Sask Party won by just over 200 votes. That being said, this is not a safe Sask Party seat by any stretch of the imagination.

4) Regina Qu'Appelle Valley.

This was another upset for the Sask Party. I don't think anyone really saw this one coming.

5) Regina Dewdney.

Against people's claims, I predicted an NDP hold, which turned out to be right.

6) Regina Rosemont.

John Murney claimed a Liberal pick-up, I said that was nonsense. I was right. :-)

7) Yorkton.

I conceded it part-way through the election but I thought it would be closer than it ended up being.

9) Humboldt.

I also conceded this one. And based on the polling numbers, I knew this one wasn't going to be close.

10) Saskatoon Sutherland.

I initially did not think this one would go, but then news out of Saskatoon during the campaign convinced me it was going down.

11) Saskatoon Greystone.

I was totaly wrong predicting an NDP hold here.

12) Saskatoon Eastview.

I was totaly right predicting an NDP hold here.

13) Saskatoon Meewasin.

NDP hold, I said it all along, the campaign started with Liberals saying they were going to win it and it ended with the Sask Party saying they were going to win it, but the NDP held it.

14) Saskatoon Northwest.

Conceded it to the Sask Party.

15) Batoche.

Thought it might be close, but the poll numbers meant a Sask Party hold.

16) PA Carlton.

Another upset for the NDP (But wait for the absentee ballots)

16) PA Northcote.

As predicted, NDP Hold.

17) Sask Rivers.

I thought we were going to win, but the polling numbers said otherwise. The polling numbers were right, I was wrong.

18) Battlefords.

As predicted, and NDP hold.

19) Lloydminster

I thought this one would be way closer, but the Sask Party really won this one.

20) Meadow Lake.

Wait for the recount. (But for now it looks like I was wrong)



So in conclsuion, I called the 38 easy seats right and got 12 out the next 20 right. However, in at least 3 of those there are still ballots to count that could change things and in 2 more there was a difference of less than 250 votes.

I am going to go with about 90% of my predictions were accurate, which isn't too bad. But there were some surprise upsets in PA, Regina and Moose Jaw that don't exactly make for safe seats for the Sask Party.

The election on November 7th, 2007 will be even closer than this one.

Democracy

I don't like the outcome of yesterday's vote but I do like the fact that we live in a democracy that takes things like the smooth transition of power from the old government to the new one peacefuly.

There are other countries that are not nearly so lucky:

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An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan Thursday granted bail to more than 300 lawyers arrested during protests against President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, attorneys said.

Chaudhry and eight other Supreme Court judges remain under effective house arrest.

Chaudhry has accused Musharraf of imposing the emergency because he feared an upcoming Supreme Court verdict on the legality of his victory in a presidential election on October 6.

---

We should be thankful for what we have and the people who did not vote yesterday should be shipped to Pakistan.

I will be back tomorrow with my recap of my predictions, where I was right, where I was wrong, and where John The-Liberals-Are-Going-To-Win-Four-Seats-including-Rosemont Murney was wrong (Just kidding John!)

Election Day in Saskatchewan

It doesn't matter who you vote for, but Vote!

Everyone wants NDP voters to got to the Polls

I mean, I understand the NDP wanting NDP voters to go to the polls:

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Premier Lorne Calvert’s campaign will make stops in key ridings in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and Regina, where he will encourage NDP supporters to continue to work to ensure the NDP forms another majority government in Saskatchewan.

---

But what is going on on the Sask Party Site?

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After 21 Years of NDP MLAs, Prince Albert Voters Looking For Positive Change
Brad Wall Asks Prince Albert Voters to Support Darryl Hickie and Kevin Shiach

---

Yep, he is looking for NDP voters. He's not saying it in as many words, but that what he means.

I mean, at least the Liberals are open about it.

---

Saskatchewan Liberal Leader David Karwacki today spoke directly to NDP supporters of the necessity of having a strong opposition in the Legislature in order to hold the next government to account.

---

Now in the Liberal's case that makes sense, I mean, there is no point in appealing to Liberal voters because, you know, there aren't any.

But isn't it interesting that all the parties basically acknowledge that traditional NDP supporters will decide this election.

But what if they all voted the way they actually believe?

What if they all voted for the NDP?

I'm not saying that I think this is a likely or even probable outcome tomorrow, but what if?

There would be some red-faced media outlets.

Just like in 1999 (although in the opposite direction) and 2003.

hmmmmmm......

The Liberals bring in the Big Guns!

Hey, when none of your candidates are elected and 50% of your federal caucus in the province has resigned this year, you have to take what you can get.

---

Gerard Kennedy, former Liberal Party of Canada leadership contender and special advisor to Stephane Dion for party renewal was door knocking with some Regina Liberal candidates on Sunday.

---

Yep. A non-elected official out helping other liberals who can't get elected.

Sounds about right.

Maybe Kennedy will bring some of the Dion magic to Saskatchew.....no, I can't even type that with a straight face.

Where's Ralph Goodale in this Campaign? As the only card-carrying Liberal who is actually elected to any position in the province, he might be of some use.

Oh, right, he depends on too much NDP support in his riding federally to piss them off provincially.

Or, perhaps, even Ralph thinks Karwacki is a loon.

The only good news for a dipper like me in this election is that it could spell the demise of the provincial Liberal party once and for all.

Good riddance.

(P.S. David Kawacki can't win his seat, so stop e-mailing me to tell me I am wrong, I don't care, and it just makes me do more posts like this one)

Sask Liberal Leader keeps making stuff up!

Seriously, how is this guy allowed to just get away with making stuff up left and right?

The Canadian Federation of Students website is trying to compare all the platforms of the two main parties in Saskatchewan and for some reason they let the Liberals play too.

Interestingly when it comes to Tuition the NDP is the only party that gets an A (The Sask Party is the only one to get an F on the report card)

But here is the interesting thing. What is the Liberal Plan?

---

The Liberal Party achieved a grade of B for their promise to continue the tuition freeze for 10 years.

---

REALLY?

That would cost in the range of a BILLION dollars, that is a hell of a lot of money. You would think they would mention that in, oh, I don't know.

Their PLATFORM!!!

and yet, not so much.

Not a cent.

The same amount budged for their Debt-Free-In-A-Decade-Scheme.

Seriously, why not just go around promising solid gold toilets for everyone? while you are pulling policies out of your ass, David, why not make them interesting.

Why does the media let this guy get away with this stuff.

Oh well, when you are only going to get 6-7% of the vote on election day and win no seats I guess no one takes you seriously, but still.

The stupid pronouncements of the leader don't help. If I was a liberal I would be calling for his head.

My take on the recent Poll Numbers

So everyone has been carrying on about the polling numbers from Saskatchewan:

---

The numbers suggest the Saskatchewan Party has the support of 54.2 per cent of decided voters, the NDP with 33.7 per cent of decided voters and the Liberals far behind with 8.1 per cent.

---

First of all, even the media is putting an important caveat on these poll numbers:

---

The samples aren't quite large enough to tell us whether or not, you know, what's happening specifically in Regina and Saskatoon

---

Secondly, this is reminiscent of the 1999 polls that showed the NDP with a 20 point lead and we all know how that turned out.

Now, before people accuse me of covering my eyes with my hands and ignoring reality, I admit that these types of polls have some validity and things are not looking good for the NDP.

However, in Regina I will stand by my prediction that only Wascana Plains is changing hands. Saskatoon is a different story. I think Eastview and Greystone are still fine (based on my local contacts) and I have always said that Meewasin will be going NDP. However, I am prepared to concede that Sutherland may be in the too-close-to-call category.

So if the NDP lose Wascana Plains and Sutherland, and they are in trouble in Yorkton, well, then that does not bode well for them. Even if they keep Meadow Lake, Sask Rivers and pick up Lloydminster (all still in the realm of possibility) they are still a couple of seats short of government.

I think it is looking likely that the Sask Party is going to form the next government, but I will stand by my claim that the final outcome is going to be a lot tighter than people think.

I think that Lloydmister is the only seat that could change into the NDP camp and I think that Yorkton, Sutherland and Wascana Plains are likely to go Sask Party. In the too-close-to-call camp remain Greystone, Eastview, Meadow Lake and Sask Rivers, but I think the NDP can (if things break in their favor amongst the undecided) hold all 4.

So here is my updated seat range:

Sask Party: 31 - 36
NDP: 24-29
Liberals: 0

I will work on narrowing that prediction down a little before e-day

(And by the way, when David Kawarcki said during the debate that he didn't think the NDP was going to form the government, Calvert's response should have been, "You aren't even going to win your own seat, so be quiet you goof and let the adults talk")

Saskatchewan Debate Anaysis

First of all, this debate didn't change anyone's mind. There was no clear winner or loser and after the first shouting match most of the people would have turned off their TV's in disgust.

Stupid moderator. Stupid Format.

With that being said, Brad Wall didn't lose his temper so he did alright for himself, Calvert did a pretty good job of defending his government and Karwacki made shit up.

Karwacki's "plan" for highways is to complain about traffic jams? WTF?

Karwacki talked about the gangs he sees every day in Riversdale when he drives to his campaign office? The problem is that he lives in Silver Springs and is running in Meewasin. Why the hell would he drive through Riversdale every day? No wonder he thinks traffic jams are a big problem, he takes the longest route imaginable to get anywhere.

Karwaki once again talked about his debt-free-in-a-decade plan that he doesn't budget a single cent for in his platform.

And he claimed Stephen Lewis said that the Saskatchewan Liberals have the best plan for health care? Um, care to prove that one David?

Oh, yeah, cities will be the “Velcro” that keeps young people in the province. David is a moron. And what was up with his grandmother cleaning the toilet? What did that have to do with anything?

My Analysis? David was smoking the Karwacki Tabacci.

More importatly, no one's vote changed tonight.

The Sask Party's So-Called "Ethics"

In the wake of the Dan Harder scandal the NDP has been raising some serious questions about the so-called ethics of the Saskatchewan Party and Brad Wall.

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Mr. Wall’s handling of Mr. Harder mirrors the actions he took around Regina Wascana Plains candidate, Christine Tell, who accepted a suspension from her job as a police officer after she was accused of improperly accessing private information.”

It was only after reporters raised questions that Mr. Wall referred the matter to his ethics panel, which reported that they accepted Ms. Tell’s statement about the events. Mr. Wall has also failed to address concerns raised about three other Sask Party candidates.

---

Yes, why was it back in the summer, that Ms. Tell's problems with the RCMP were turned over to the Sask Party "ethics panel" and Mr. Harder's problems with harassment were simply "dealt with" by Mr. Wall? (After he got caught covering it up)

Doesn't this mean that ultimately Brad Wall just makes the decision? So what was with the whole bullshit "ethics committee" investigation in the summer? Wall knew that he was going to keep Christine Tell so he sent his trained "ethical lapdogs" in to deal with the problem of Christine Tell and her RCMP investigation.

So for the record there is still no instance of the ethics committee actually finding any action by any of the members of the Sask Party unethical.

Sask Party Candidate Quits due to Workplace Harrasment

As I posted last night:

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The Saskatchewan Party's candidate in the Regina Walsh Acres constituency has stepped down at the request of the party's leader after allegations that he made inappropriate comments.

When Dan Harder became the party's candidate in the constituency for the Nov. 7 provincial election, he told the party about a complaint made against him in 2006 by three employees during his former job as executive director of Big Brothers of Regina.

CBC News recently obtained documents containing allegations that Harder made inappropriate comments about others based on race, gender, marital status, weight and sexual orientation.

---

So in other words this guy was asked to leave his job at Big Brothers of Regina due to workplace harassment.

But the next question is, when did this happen?

Well, it must have happened sometime after October 18, 2006. How do I know this? Because of this article posted on that day that still has him working in this position. And then Dan Harder is still listed as a contact person for the Big Brothers of Regina "Bowl for Kid's Sake" in 2007.

So it is getting more and more likely that this happened in 2007.

Update: And according to the NDP news release Harder was nominated in March of 07

And what was the Sask Party doing at that exact same time in 2007?

Oh yeah, standing up every day in the legislature and condemning workplace harassment.

In fact it was Sask Party MLA Nancy Heppner's big deal at the time:

---

"It is misconduct for managers and supervisors who know of workplace harassment not to take immediate corrective action."

---

- April 4th, 2007 Hansard, Page 1118 (link)

---

"Why weren’t earlier harassment complaints taken seriously?"

---

- April 5th, 2007 Hansard, Page 1214 (link)

And another Sask Party MLA June Draude had this to say:

---

"ignoring harassment complaints is in itself a violation of the harassment policy."

---

- April 3rd, 2007 Hansard, Page 1115 (link)

Yet, at about the same time that these Sask Party MLA's were getting up and denoucing workplace harassment in the government and blaming the NDP for doing nothing, what was going on?

One of the Sask Party candidates was guilty of workplace harassment as well. And what was the Sask Party doing?

They were ignoring the harassment complaints, they were not taking them seriously and they were not taking corrective action (until now when they got caught)

In other words, they were doing exactly what they were standing up in the house every day, for day after day, and doing, until they got caught.

But wait, what does the Sask Party have to say about ignoring workplace harassment and then getting caught doing it? Well, one of their MLAs Donna Harpauer had this to say:

---

It’s just crisis management. That is all it is. This is crisis management because they got caught. They got caught...So let’s have that investigation. Let’s
find out what went wrong here. Who knew? Who knew? ...is it okay with these members that people that covered it up are still employed. Is that okay? Is that zero tolerance? And I don’t think it is. Talk to these victims [of workplace harassment] and see how they feel.

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- April 5th, 2007 Hansard, Page 1112 (link)

So there is at least one Sask Party MLA who thinks people who cover up workplace harassment should be fired. That there should be an investigation in this sort of situation.

Interesting. I wonder if she is going to come out and demand an investigation in this sort of circumstance?

oh, and by the way, what is the very next comment made by Sask Party MLA Donna Harpauer that day:

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"You know, the member from Regina Walsh Acres, someone needs to take her to the back room and give her the . . ."

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Oh yes, that is a famous phrase, remember?

This is how seriously the Sask Party takes workplace harassment, THEY DO IT THEMSELVES.

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Harpauer said someone should "take her to the backroom and give her the horse ...,'' then stopped.

Harpauer later said the self-censored phrase was horseshit, adding she was referring to the backroom where cabinet ministers go after question period to be briefed by staff before facing reporters.

But Morin said she believed Harpauer was about to say horsewhipped.

Through tears, Morin later told reporters that the comment reminded her of when she was assaulted at a previous job.

Kowalsky ruled Wednesday that Harpauer's comments were unparliamentary.

"They constitute a personal attack on another member and caused considerable disorder in the chamber,'' he said.

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What else could you call a "personal attack" against Sandra Morin, in her workplace (The Saskatchewan Legislature) if not workplace harassment?

The Sask Party are a bunch of political opportunists who used the issue of workplace harassment for political advantage all the while doing it themselves in the legislature, and covering up one of their own candidates doing the same thing.

To elect these people would be a tragedy.

Upperdate: On a lighter note Big City Lib has some specualtion as to what Mr. Harder may have said. Worth a read.

Sask Party is Only Party Not to Field Full Slate of Candidates

From the Sask Party site:

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Saskatchewan Party candidate Dan Harder has withdrawn his candidacy for the Regina Walsh Acres constituency in the November 7 provincial election.

The decision was made after Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall learned the details of a 2006 complaint made by employees against Harder while he was the Executive Director of the Regina Big Brothers. The complaint involved allegations of inappropriate comments made by Harder to employees.

Harder responded to the complaint at the time and no further action was taken on the complaint by Big Brothers. However, after learning the details of the complaint and Harder’s response, Wall felt Harder could not continue as a Saskatchewan Party candidate.

Wall said he had been aware that there was a complaint against Harder, but only learned of the details of the matter today.

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Hmmm. I wonder if he got severance after being dismissed for harassment? And if he did and the Sask Party knew about that, then their whole spring legislative session attacking Murdoch Carrierre was pure bullshit.

Update: Yep, it was for harassment, read about the pure hypocrisy here

Not to mention all their "we have a code of ethics" crap. And all of the "don't the NDP know who is running for them" crap.

And these are the people that might get entrusted with the public purse?

Lying Liars and the Lies They Tell.

Sask Party Attack Website

Now, I don't agree with the information on this website, but the tactic of the website is not objectionable to me. (I do find it funny that they are still stealing all their images from the NDP because they are too lazy to have their own, but now they at least are following the law and sourcing them properly)

But what about all the whopping and hollering over the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing campaign? I mean, the comments section of Small Dead Animals got bat-shit crazy condemning the NDP for, quote, "Negative Campaigning" but the newspapers condemned the NDP for lowing the debate.

So I assume the same condemnation will befall the Sask Party, right?

Right?

*sound of crickets chirping*

Liberal Party of Saskatchewan Plaform Wildly Inconsistent

Hey, remember when David Kawarcki was all about Saskatchewan getting "debt free in a decade"

You know, it was his big complaint after the Saskatchewan Budget:

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One of the more interesting ideas to emerge from Thursday's budget debate was Liberal Leader David Karwacki's goal of making Saskatchewan "debt-free in a decade.''

Karwacki's view is that billion-dollar windfalls from non-renewable resource revenues should be used, not for ongoing operations, like health and education, but for permanent debt reduction.

With the province shelling out more than $500 million a year in interest payments, Karwacki says paying down the debt would free up half a billion bucks a year for future economic and social development programs.

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And he made it part of a big speech as reported by prairie fire:

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We need to get to work to become debt-free in a decade. To leave this province a better place than we found it for our children.

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John Murney over at his blog thought it was a great idea:

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Saskatchewan could probably be debt free in about 10-15 years. Wiping out the debt in 10 years is very ambitious. I commend Karwacki for at least having the vision and the gumption to suggest the idea.

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It is mentioned on the Liberal website here:

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This $400 million dollar infrastructure investment would be funded through the sale of SaskFerco. Additional funds from the sale would be directed towards debt reduction along with our plan to be debt free in a decade.

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And on one of his candidate's sites here:

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Our plan for becoming Debt Free in a Decade will give us the flexibility we need to leave our children and grandchildren with a bright future full of opportunity.

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One place where it doesn't appear?

The Liberal Platform which has exactly $0 for debt reduction. That's right, not a single cent over 4 years.

Is Karwacki just stupid and forgot all of his promises and all of his speeches?

Or was he just full of shit to begin with?

You decide.

Once Again, the NDP Out-Greens the Greens

I wonder why the Green Party of Saskatchewan didn't make this announcement:

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Premier Lorne Calvert today announced that the Saskatchewan NDP would take steps to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions produced by the NDP central campaign and Leader’s Tour during the 2007 election.

“Creating a greener Saskatchewan is one of our five major commitments in this election,” Calvert said. “We want to demonstrate that we don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk. That’s why we are working with Saskatchewan organizations to address our greenhouse gas emissions during this campaign and purchase green power.”

By offsetting emissions from the campaign motorhome, staff and campaign vehicles, and heating and electricity for the central campaign office, the NDP will compensate for almost 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide and purchase 20,000 kilowatt-hours of green power. In addition, the NDP will encourage its 58 local campaigns to also offset and use green power.

“We have calculated how much carbon our campaign will produce, and we will contribute $1,200 to the Saskatchewan Environmental Society to compensate for those emissions,” Calvert said. “In addition, by purchasing $500 of green power from SaskPower, our campaign is investing in the future of cleaner power generation in Saskatchewan.”

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Oh yeah, 'cause the Green Party of Saskatchewan is just like the Green Party of Canada, well-meaning, but inept.

Saskatchewan Election Prediction Update

In my last pre-election post on election predictions I made the following point:

The seats to watch are the following ones:

Wascana Plains in Regina.
Humboldt
Yorkton
Greystone in Saskatoon
Meewasin in Saskatoon
Northwest in Saskatoon
Meadow Lake
Saskatchewan Rivers
Lloydminster


I am starting to hear some rumblings from people on both sides about a couple of these seats.

In Yorkton the NDP is running a strong campaign with a lot of support for the local councilor in the city of Yorkton proper, but not so much support from the rural area. This does not bode well for the NDP in this seat as they need to at least win a couple of polls in the rural to make up for the new suburban south-east end of the city of Yorkton proper, which the Sask Party has wrapped up. I am not ready to concede this seat yet, but it is on life-support.

The flip side of that is Sask Rivers. I hear from a friend of mine in the Sask Party that they are not getting the traction they need in the seat and I also hear that the NDP campaign office opening had 800 people out. If that's true, then this seat will be an NDP hold. (Perhaps defying conventional wisdom)

I have another friend who is involved in the Greystone campaign and says that the NDP are holding all of thier support from last time in the seat. If she is not lieing to me (and I have no reason to suspect she is being untruthful) the NDP will hold Greystone.

The Liberals are cratering in Saskatoon and will be lucky to get 10% of the vote in the entire city. So unless that 10% all live in Meewassin that means that Karwacki is done for (again). If this 10% stat hold true, the NDP will actually increase their percentage win in this seat (which may be the only seat in the province where this is the case)

And, sadly, I am afraid that it is time to concede Regina Wascana Plains. It does look like this will be the most likely pickup for the Sask Party.

So here was my summary going into this post:

Province-Wide Summary:
NDP: 24
SP: 25
Too Close: 9

I am giving Regina WP to the Sask Party and I am giving Greystone and Meewasin to the NDP. Yorkton and Sask Rivers remain too close to call but leaning in particular directions and I have no new information on the rest.

New Province-Wide Summary:
NDP: 26
SP: 26
Too Close: 6

I have said one thing all along, that this election was going to be closer than a lot of people thought. These numbers are looking like that will be true.

Sask NDP Announce Wait Time Plan

Health wait times is one of the areas where even New Democrats admit that there is some work that can be done.

Luckily, we are:

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Premier Lorne Calvert today announced several new initiatives to further strengthen and preserve public health care in Saskatchewan. In addition to announcing plans for a second surgical care centre, this one to be located in Saskatoon, the Premier says an NDP government will expand cancer screening and prevention programs.

"Publicly funded and operated day surgery centres make good sense, helping to free up hospital space and resources for more complex procedures, while reducing surgical and diagnostic wait times," Calvert said. "With two day surgery centres, including the one underway in Regina, wait times will be reduced significantly and patients will receive their day procedures more quickly."

Once fully operational, the Regina surgical centre will be equipped to perform up to 10,000 surgical and diagnostic procedures each year, and the one in Saskatoon will perform up to 20,000. These procedures may include cataract surgeries; ear, nose and throat surgeries; joint arthroscopies; biopsies; and hernia repairs. Approximately 75,000 operating room procedures were completed last year; more than half were day surgeries.

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It is only part of the solution, not the whole package, but it is a good step forward.