First Habitaible Planet other than Earth found!

This is just freeking cool!

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An international team of astronomers from Switzerland, France and Portugal have discovered the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date.

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“We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius, and water would thus be liquid,” said Stéphane Udry from the Geneva Observatory, Switzerland and lead-author of the paper in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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“Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth’s radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky – like our Earth – or covered with oceans,” he said.

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“Liquid water is critical to life as we know it and because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extra-terrestrial life. On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” added Xavier Delfosse, a member of the team from Grenoble University, France.

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Gore might just be running for President

If this is true

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Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.

Two members of Mr Gore's staff from his unsuccessful attempt in 2000 say they have been approached to see if they would be available to work with him again.

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I think that Gore would easily win the nomination and then the Presidency if he ran.

That would be a good thing for the entire world

I would not take a job at this place

You need about 9 minutes to watch this but it is sooooooooo worth it.....

(Warning: Subtitles)

Conservative MP Calls for Sweeping Internet Censorship

Story

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Canadian MP Joy Smith introduced a new bill this week designed to cleanse the Internet of child pornography, racial hatred, and material that promotes violence against women. All noble goals, to be sure, but the cure might be almost as bad as the disease: Smith's plan calls for government censorship and the licensing of all ISPs in the country.

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Craaaaaazyyyyyyyyy

May/December (I mean Dion) Romance - My Take

Actually it is not my take, but rather the take of a few other bloggers:

First off take this

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While I've been viewing the situation in Central Nova from afar like a slow motion train wreck about to happen, I haven't really been rubbed the wrong way by May or her party. Until now. For May to insist that it might be more important for Jack to talk to her about their "shared values" than to talk to Harper on actually SHARING those values smacks of a sense of entitlement that shouldn't even be inherent in a person whose party has yet to elect a single member, and who has yet to enter the House of Commons as a sitting Member of Parliament let alone the Leader of an official party in that House.

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and this

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Even if all of the Liberal voters in that riding (and that is a pretty big if) threw their support behind the Green’s a good percentage of the NDP vote still needs to switch their support. All of that is also assuming that the right-Liberal vote doesn’t switch to the Conservatives once they have lost their party

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and this

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Essentially, May has written off nearly every other Green candidate in the country in order to improve her personal odds of being elected.

May has put all of the Green eggs (and ham) in one basket. If she does not win, then this new strategy will only have helped the Liberal Party appropriate Green votes. If she wins, she will not have anyone to second her motions let alone official party status. In effect, May would have to function as an appendage of another party. Through her deal with Dion, she has clarified which party it would be. Whether or not May is elected, the beneficiary of this deal will be the Liberal Party.

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and finally back to this

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Does this mean if (a big if) May is elected she will get a free ride for the rest of her time in politics?

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Rowin Atkinson on Religion

Some good stuff here

Are you tired of the Right-Wing Assult on public health care?

I know I am. Take a look

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Health outcomes for patients in Canada are as good as or better than in the United States, even though per capita spending is higher south of the border, suggest Canadian and U.S. researchers who crunched data from 38 studies.

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and

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Overall, Canada did better, and in fact we found a statistically significant five per cent mortality advantage to people with diagnoses in Canada compared to their counterparts in the United States

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Happy Anniversary

As even a total idiot (or some Saskatchewan Conservative MP's) could figure out from this site - I am a big fan of the Simpsons.


This week is the 20th Anniversary of the show. Read more here

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Today, The Simpsons is broadcast in more than 45 languages—and is the longest-running sitcom in history, edging out "Ozzie and Harriet," which ran from 1952 to 1966.

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This is why I am looking forward to the US election

Hint: The winner can't be Bush

I would actually watch this show

Sorry if you've seen this one

Defend the right to be offended

Recently there have been a number of posts in the political blogosphere that have "offended" some people and have led to calls for removal from lists or bannings or what-not.

This is a reminder that freedom of speech comes with a price. No surprise, but Salman Rushdie says it better then I ever could.

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The idea that any kind of free society can be constructed in which people will never be offended or insulted is absurd. So too is the notion that people should have the right to call on the law to defend them against being offended or insulted. A fundamental decision needs to be made: do we want to live in a free society or not? Democracy is not a tea party where people sit around making polite conversation. In democracies people get extremely upset with each other. They argue vehemently against each other’s positions. (But they don’t shoot.)

At Cambridge University I was taught a laudable method of argument: you never personalise, but you have absolutely no respect for people’s opinions. You are never rude to the person, but you can be savagely rude about what the person thinks. That seems to me a crucial distinction: people must be protected from discrimination by virtue of their race, but you cannot ring-fence their ideas. The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.

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The first "real news" of the US Primary's "Phoney War" Phase

Some cold, hard facts about the campaigns of those contending to be the 44th president of the United States were revealed this weekend as campaigns posted their first quarterly reports with the FEC.

The FEC reports revealed much more than wonky numbers: They tell a great deal about the campaigns. Some tidbits:

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Self-described fiscal conservative Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., spent 64 percent of what he took in, and assumed a stunning amount (to the tune of $1.8 million) of debt.

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Leading up to an election year anticipated to be one of difficulty for the GOP, the Democratic presidential candidates raised $27 million more than their Republican counterparts.

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Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., raised $24.8 million in primary cash for his campaign — almost 30 percent more than did frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y

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Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson may have come up with the most clever way to keep his burn rate below 20 percent — his campaign manager, Dave Contarino, is a volunteer who does not draw a salary from the campaign. That's a somewhat different approach than the roughly $240,000 annual salary Rudy Giuliani pays to his campaign manager, Mike DuHaime.

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Obama — 104,000 donors
McCain - 50,000 donors
Clinton - 60,000 donors
Edwards - 40,000 donors
Giuliani - 28,000 donors

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Obama scored the most Internet money by raising $6.9 million online in the first quarter.

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Looks like Obama has a commanding lead.

The May/December (I mean Dion) Deal

So I don't agree with Andrew Coyne very often, but here it is:

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It’s pretty clear there’s a larger game being played here than just electing Mr. Dion or Ms May, and larger stakes than just Central Nova. Even at yesterday’s joint press conference, there were hints that similar arrangements might be worked out in other ridings. Which suggests the real target of this operation is not Mr. MacKay. It’s the NDP.

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And more to the point, read this post that pretty much sums up the whole deal:

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It is a riding where an outstanding young NDP candidate named Alexis MacDonald (I have met her, and trust me, this woman is amazing) came within striking distance of MacKay in 2006 with almost 33% of the vote. ... It is also a riding where the Greens took only a measly 1.6% of the vote in that same election.

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Some bloggers (in comments mostly) such as here and here are claiming that this move is against the Liberal Constitution.

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this is against your [Liberal] constitution, a point Warren Kinsella also made on the Adler show today.

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I don't know if that is true or not. I took a lookee-see at the Liberal Party Constitution and didn't see anything that would prohibit this deal, but if some one else saw what I missed (very possible, I just took a quick glance) then please let me know.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

na na naaaa na

na na naaaah na

hey hey hey

goooooooodbyyyyyyyyye

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Belinda Stronach's brief but tumultuous fling with federal politics is coming to an end. The auto-parts heiress announced Wednesday that she won't seek re-election as an MP and, effective immediately, is rejoining her father's multibillion-dollar empire, Magna

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What?

Oh, you want some ORIGINAL content from a blog, do ya?

Fine, look at these

The Adventures of Diva Rachel

Peace, order and good government, eh?

Indie scribe

West of the Fourth

Ramblings of a Northern Ontario Liberal

Benediction blog

Blast Furnace Canada Blog

Pierre Trudeau Is My Homeboy

I just can't stay away.....

Bush is such a clown.....

Blog Hiatus - Easter Vacation

I am away for a few days so there will be no blog posts until Wednesday, April 11th.

thanks

gpm

Al Gore Comming to Saskatchewan

Awesome!

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Former U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore will be giving his much-publicized presentation, An Inconvenient Truth, to a Saskatchewan audience later this month.

Gore, a former vice-president under Bill Clinton, was invited to speak at Regina's Brandt Centre April 23 by Premier Lorne Calvert.

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Did Johnson have Kennedy killed?

This is a poorly written article, but it is still worth reading

The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt: He was the ultimate keeper of secrets, lurking in the shadows of American history. He toppled banana republics, planned the Bay of Pigs invasion and led the Watergate break-in. Now he would reveal what he'd always kept hidden: who killed JFK

and this is true:

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E. Howard scribbled the initials "LBJ," standing for Kennedy's ambitious vice president, Lyndon Johnson. Under "LBJ," connected by a line, he wrote the name Cord Meyer. Meyer was a CIA agent whose wife had an affair with JFK; later she was murdered, a case that's never been solved. Next his father connected to Meyer's name the name Bill Harvey, another CIA agent; also connected to Meyer's name was the name David Morales, yet another CIA man and a well-known, particularly vicious black-op specialist. And then his father connected to Morales' name, with a line, the framed words "French Gunman Grassy Knoll."

So there it was, according to E. Howard Hunt. LBJ had Kennedy killed. It had long been speculated upon. But now E. Howard was saying that's the way it was. And that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't the only shooter in Dallas. There was also, on the grassy knoll, a French gunman, presumably the Corsican Mafia assassin Lucien Sarti, who has figured prominently in other assassination theories.

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Then WOW!

Peak Oil Information

I spent the better part of Sunday reading a good chunk of the information on this site about the issue of peak oil (I know, I'm a geek)

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Peak Oil is not a theory. It is a fact. Only the timing, magnitude, and implications are open to interpretation. How we interpret them should be a top priority for us individually and collectively.

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This site is a remarkable resource for people who want to know more about the issue and the argument being presented on both sides.

Given that even the most optimistic prediction is that we will reach PO in about 25 years, this is something that is going to have start being addressed by governments around the world.

Again, this is why there needs to be public investment in developing new energy technologies - a topic that I have blogged about many times

There is no Walmart in New York?

I always just assumed that New York city had a Walmart.

But I guess not.

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Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation’s largest city, Wal-Mart’s chief executive said yesterday, “I don’t care if we are ever here.”

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He went on to say:

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Speaking about what he sees as snobbish elites in New York and across the country, Mr. Scott added, “You have people who are just better than us and don’t want a Wal-Mart in their community.”

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You know what they need? More people like this:

Conservative boxes left behind - what is the deal with all this?

Hat tip to fuddle-duddle

This is a weird story. Here is the Ottawa News Story:

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Accusing the minority government of "gross negligence", two Liberal MPs had 10 boxes of Conservative personnel files carted on a trolley for three blocks through pouring rain to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office in order to have them returned.

The files contain highly personal information, judgments on individual employee performance and comments by their peers and supervisors, Ontario MP Mark Holland and Montreal MP Marlene Jennings said. They accused the government of "gross ineptitude" and "cavalier disregard" for privacy.

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According to the Liberals:

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The Liberals said some of the documents were found in drawers of offices abandoned by the Conservatives and others were in boxes.

The documents were left behind in the first-floor offices of a parliamentary building after officials from the Conservative research bureau moved to third-floor offices the Liberal research office had occupied for many years.

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According to the Conservatives:



I tend to err on the side of the Cons screwed up - but if they can actually make a case that the boxes were "stolen" then this could backfire on the Liberals.

According to Big City Lib These are the same boxes that yielded the Stockwell Day payoff scandal so there are some juicy contents in these boxes.

I get the sense this story is just getting started........

Ah... the70's, good times!

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Nuclear Power is Safe!

note: this is a joke, see the "humour" tag below

Saskatchewan Budget - Surplus or Deficit?

The Sask Party and their lapdogs in the media and the blogosphere are trying to smear the budget that was recently tabled as a deficit budget. The numbers can get confusing and it is easy to point to any given table or chart in the budget and say "Ah ha - this number says they are running a deficit"

Part of the problem is that there are a number of ways that one can say if a a budget is a deficit budget or a surplus budget.

Revenue/Expenditure

One of the simple ways, that appeals to some people, is the answer to the question "Did you spend more than you took in in revenue?" I personally have some problems and some caveats with this method but let's assume that this is how you want to make your judgment.

Let's take a look at the budget, shall we? (Page 48)


What you are seeing is that last year the government spent 700 million less than it brought in and this year the budget calls for the government to spend 79 million less than it brought in.

So Surplus, right?

Well, this doesn't take into account debt servicing, the fiscal stabilization fund, the Saskatchewan infrastructure fund, crown corporation debt and debt servicing, some payments for the crown corporations to the government through non-dividend means, worker's compensation board issues and so on and so on.

That's why I don't like it and think it is simplistic.

But if anyone tries to claim that the NDP are spending more that they are taking in - that is just completely false.

Debt Increase/Decrease

Another way that people try to determine if their is a deficit budget is to look at the total debt at the beginning of the year and then again at the end of the year. If the total debt went up then it is a deficit, if the debt went down it is a surplus (I am a bigger fan of this method than the last one)

So let's see the budget (greensheets page 1)


You will see that the actual debt in 2006 is $11,228 million and the projected debt in 2007 is $11,150 million which is a decrease of 78 million in debt.

So it's a surplus right?

Well, most economists actually care if the debt is manageable or not when they talk about debt. So we have to look at debt as a percentage of GDP: A decrease in 2% of debt/GDP.

So why is the Sask Party claiming a deficit? This brings me to the third way of looking at budget surplus/deficits
Summery Financial Statements
Let's look at the budget (Greensheets again)

See, they want you to ignore that whole GRF surplus thing of 79 million and they want you to focus on the summary deficit/surplus number at the bottom. That 701 million "deficit"

But it says "deficit" right? So there is a deficit?

Not really. On a SFS basis everything is added together into one pool (al the stuff I was talking about earlier) and transactions BETWEEN branches are ELIMINATED to avoid double-counting. (This is similar in principle to the way economists calculate the GDP of a nation of province - you look at the final numbers, not each step along the way)

However, what this means is that the transfers from the fiscal stabilization fund to the general revenue fund is counted as an expense.

Think about that.

If you are running your household budget and you are a two-income family but the wife transfers some money into the husband's bank account so he can make a mortgage payment - what would you count as the expense?

The final mortgage payment right?

But on a summery financial statement you would have to include the wifes "transfer" as an expense because it came out of her account.

That's not how most people would operate, but from an accounting perspective it is correct.

That's the argument that the Sask Party is making - you have to ignore revenues over expenses, ignore if the debt goes up or down, and simply look at the one number that uses a weird accounting principle.

You also have to ignore the budget documents that show, clearly, a surplus in the general revenue fund.

If that good enough for you? No. Well it is good enough for the Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal agrees with the government that the NDP is running a surplus (14 in a row to be precise) and that the province should get "top marks" for keeping spending in check.

(hat tip: buckdog)

If you want to argue with me on this point - and continue to make the spurious claim that the NDP is running a deficit then you must answer the following two points:

1) Why should we ignore the FSF when determining the status of the deficit/surplus?

2) Where did the Bank of Montreal go wrong in its analysis?

Creation/Evolution Debate

The Simpsons had a great evolution couch gag this week - but YouTube doesn't have it (Yet)

So.....

I bring you the best of the creation/evolution debate

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Update: Here it is

Quebec Election Prediction

Made with no information but my gut and some poll numbers (In other words, I am just pulling these numbers out of my ass)

Liberals: 60 seats
Separatists: 49 seats
Mario: 16 seats

So that is a minority Liberal government that will be propped up by the ADQ.

If you want a real prediction then go here

How much trouble are the Liberal in?

It's bad enough when you have this type of story:

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The poll, conducted exclusively by Ipsos-Reid for CanWest News Service and Global Television after the Harper government delivered its new budget, shows the Tories have opened up an 11-point lead nationally over Stephane Dion's Liberals.

Grit support plunged to 29% from 34% in a survey conducted a week earlier.

Moreover, the poll indicates the Conservatives have opened up a 10-point lead (43% to 33%) over the Liberals in Ontario, the crown jewel of Canadian politics with 106 seats. They also are locked in a virtual tie with them in Quebec, 26%-25% for the Liberals. Quebec has 75 federal seats.

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But what is even worse, is this, you never, ever want this type of story:

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His zinger in turn provoked Liberal Leader Stephane Dion to charge that Mr. Harper was trying to bully him. It seemed a particularly feeble -- dare we say, whimpy -- accusation for a grown man to make.

Then don't follow it, Mr. Dion. Or do. Either way, stop whining like a child whose older brother just got a bigger lollypop. Act like a leader, or at least a grownup politician. Accept that in the cut-and-thrust of political jousting your opponents are going to make allegations against you and your party every bit as outsized as the ones you make against them.

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Ouch! If this "whimpy" meme takes off then game over - it is Dion's "Mr. Dithers" tag.

Remember Joe Clark?

Details of the Saskatchewan Budget

My first take on the 2007 Saskatchewan Budget:

• A New Parmicare plan for Seniors - No Senior will have to pay more than $15 a month for all precription drugs. This is the most significant expansion of health services for seniors in a generation


• New tax incentives for new graduates so that if they stay in the province, or move here from elsewhere, that the first $20,000 of income will be tax-free for 5 years for a total of $100,000 worth of tax-free income.


• The start of the return of the Children's dental program (I hope) with a targeted dental program for grades 1 to 7 in community schools.


• Keeping the University Tuition Freeze or a third year


• A $5 billion/Ten Year Plan for Highways


• Continuing to cut business taxes


• Continuing to have the lowest sales tax in Canada


• Providing property tax relief

This is one of the most left-wing, socially progressive budgets that I have ever seen from this government and it obviously an attempt to shore-up left wing support leading into an election campaign.

The most "Liberal Budget ever"?

John Ibbitson over at the globe and mail adds insult to injury with his comments on the budget

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How Liberal is this allegedly Conservative budget? It's so Liberal that it actually revives the sponsorship program.

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and

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There was a time when some of us thought Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty were conservatives: prudent politicians who were definably to the right of, say, Jack Layton or Stéphane Dion. What fools we were.

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and

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The only losers -- apart from the opposition parties, which are left slack-jawed, with nothing meaningful to oppose (although that won't stop them) -- will be those few remaining citizens who would actually like to vote for a conservative party. No such creature exists any more.

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and finally (and funnily)

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This is so Liberal, the Grits should sue for breach for copyright.

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I (like most dippers) have always said "Liberal, Tory, Same old Story" but who knew just how true that was?

How is the Conservative budget playing with Conservatives?

Or at least the bloging ones?

From The Calvinball Dairies

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The 2007 Budget is a complete sell out. I would have nothing good to say about this document if a Liberal government tabled it, and I have nothing good to say about it now. This is a budget without one redeeming feature.

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From Sham the Tory Man:

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After watching Jim Flaherty deliver the Harper government's second budget lets just say I wanted to reach for the Pepto Bismol since there wasn't anything conservative about it apart from the blue cover (which might as well have been pink).

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From A Step to the Right

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Well, I’m disappointed with the 2007 Federal Budget. I really had my hopes up for an income tax split cut, but I guess I’ll have to wait at least another year for that.

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From Proud to be Canadian

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I’ve heard a Mr. Flaherty deliver a budget for the past while, but I heard the Conservatives were going to spit one out today. Still waiting.

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From Political Staples

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The highest spending government in the history of Canada and three parties to the left of that party. That's how Andrew Coyne characterized the budget on an ad hoc edition of the At Issue Panel.

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From Kerplonka!

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I guess you could sum up my reaction in the word "underwhelmed". The fundamental problem is that Harper's trying to be all things to all people, trying to do too much with too little.

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From The Politic.com

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An unconservative, election-ready budget. I’ll be forgiving, because I don’t want to see a Liberal government in a month, but this had better not be a pattern. Seven percent increases in spending are appalling, and not what I expect from this government.

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From BC Tory

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As far as this budget goes, it's great for politics, but not for policy. It's a safe, centrist budget that is designed to woo voters, but, as far as the Conservative base goes, it leaves a sour taste in their mouth. It may gain votes, but it lacks the one thing I've long clamoured for in this budget: some delicious fiscal conservatism. I've got the napkin on my lap, fork and knife in hand, and it seems as if I will go home starving. Quite a sad state of affairs.

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From Wundrick Blog

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And now word comes that the NDP and Liberals are going to oppose it anyway. Good grief - if that's the case, I certainly hope it's because they think we're spending too much.

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And - saving the best comment for last, From Kerplonka! (Again)

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"What's our next step? Start the Reform Party?"

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Geeze, with this kind of endorsement, maybe I will have to change my mind and support the budget.

Update: Not just Tories are pissed off at the budget

Conservative Budget Breaks Promise to Saskatchewan

If this story is true then they broke their promise :

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The Conservative budget proposes to exclude 50 per cent of non-renewable natural resources from the formula used to calculate equalization payments to the provinces. Premiers Lorne Calvert of Saskatchewan and Danny Williams of Newfoundland had lobbied hard for 100 per cent exclusion of non-renewable natural resources, but analysts had predicted 50 per cent inclusion was more realistic.

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Does this break the promise? Decide for yourself:

here is the conservative plan:

The plan
A Conservative government will:
• Work with the provinces in order to achieve a long-term agreement which would address the issue of fiscal imbalance in a permanent fashion.
• Work to achieve with the provinces permanent changes to the equalization formula which would ensure that non-renewable natural resource revenue is removed from the equalization formula to encourage economic growth. We will ensure that no province is adversely affected from changes to the equalization formula.

"Ensure that non-renewable natural resource revenue is removed from the equalization formula" Not "removed with a cap" not "sort or removed but not really"

Let's see what the conservatives said in the house:

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“The matter of equalization has to do with Saskatchewan's natural resources which by right of the Constitution we should have complete access to, we should have total and complete benefit of.
- Mr. Bradley Trost (Saskatoon—Humboldt, CPC) Hansard

"It is our position that non-renewable resources such as oil and gas should not be in the formula. "
- Mr. Ed Komarnicki (Souris—Moose Mountain, CPC) Hansard

"Will the minister or his designate stand in the House today and do what is right, do what is fair, and simply commit to the elimination of the clawback provisions and give Saskatchewan people the same deal as afforded to Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia?"
- Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, CPC) Hansard

It was interesting to hear him say that equalization is not really about equality. It seems to me that it is…. We know that the current equalization formula is flawed…. We agree that Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia deserve to keep their offshore gas and oil revenues. However, we think that what is fair for those provinces is also fair for Saskatchewan…. . This change should be a slam dunk.
- Mr. David Anderson (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC) Hansard

"Representatives of the people of Saskatchewan are obliged to speak out against an equalization system that penalizes our province with an over-emphasis on non-renewable resources and a complete failure to accurately measure fiscal capacity.
- Mrs. Lynne Yelich (Blackstrap, CPC) Hansard

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This means the following (according to CTV again)

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The fiscal capacity cap, another new measure in the budget, is intended to ensure that the formula doesn't unfairly bring a receiving province's overall fiscal capacity to a level higher than that of any non-receiving, or "have" provinces.

Under the measure, no province can bring in more revenue than Ontario, which doesn't receive a payment from the equalization program earns less revenue than Alberta.

That cap has a significant effect on Saskatchewan, which is currently a have-not province but has significant natural resources revenue.

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In other words, Saskatchewan is to get about 220 million.

THAT IS NOT WHAT WAS PROMISED

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To put it into perspective, a new equalization deal would have meant an additional $750 million for Saskatchewan, my province, this year alone.
- Mr. Dave Batters (Palliser, CPC) Hansard

"It is estimated that Saskatchewan, had it received that same deal a decade ago, would have received an additional $8 billion for the province from non-renewable resource revenues…. In regard to equalization, Saskatchewan is being treated very unfairly
- Mr. Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, CPC) Hansard

"By my understanding, if Saskatchewan were allowed to keep 100% of its non-renewable natural resources, it would mean an estimated $800 million yearly and perhaps even higher than that".
- Tom Lukiwski source: Federal Hansard, March 22, 2005

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Remember that Saskatchewan Conservative MP's - Brad Trost, according to the CBC said that Saskatchewan would get the "best deal ever" which may be true - but he also said that it would be just as good as they were promising:

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Brad Trost said while caucus discussions are confidential, MPs from Saskatchewan are intent on keeping their promise to get a new equalization deal for the province.

"Let me give you a 100 per cent guarantee, Prime Minister Harper will give Saskatchewan the best deal it's ever had from any prime minister ever, " he said.

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A 100% guarantee, eh? That's a pretty strong statement. But it ge's even better, what does Trost go on to say:

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Asked if that would be the same deal the Conservatives campaigned on, Trost said: "If it isn't, it better be better."

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Let's see what his fellow MP Tom Lukiwiski had to say (from the same article:

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Before the Conservatives formed the goverment, Lukiwski said the two proposed changes to the equalization formula could mean at least $2 billion a year extra for Saskatchewan government coffers.

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So Saskatchewan gets 220 million - which is not $2 billon or $8 billion or even $800 million - which are all numbers that THE CONSERVATIVES SAID WE WOULD GET

This has been a Saskatchewan Screw Job - Harper Style

Read more here

Saskatchewan Conservative Party Health Care Plan Leaked to Media

This "newspaper" somehow got a hold of the Sask Party's plan for Health Care in Saskatchewan:

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Health care is all about exclusivity, pure and simple. It's for a group of like-minded people bonded by the dream of only having to contribute a portion of their weekly wages to ensure unfettered access to a number of licensed health care professionals. If we change all that, health care will be about as elite as a public restroom, open to any yokel who waltzes into an emergency room

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$60 Gadget Could Reduce Greenhouse Gas by 2 million tonnes a year

If this is true then the government should offer a tax break to the stores and manufactures to get the price of this thing down as low as possible to get people to buy them.

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The £25 gadget significantly reduces the amount of energy used by fridges and freezers, which are estimated to consume about a fifth of all domestic electricity in the UK. If one was fitted to each of the 87 million refrigeration units in Britain, carbon dioxide emissions would fall by more than 2 million tonnes a year.

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£25 = about $60 Canadian but the cheaper the better

Let's do this thing!

Layton Stands up For Saskatchewan

At least one federal leader cares about Saskatchewan:

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NDP leader Jack Layton says he can't support the upcoming federal budget if it doesn't deal with an issue near and dear to the Saskatchewan government — equalization payments.

---

Remember when Conservative MP Brad Trost said this:

---

Finally, it should be noted that only the Conservatives are fighting for Saskatchewan to receive the full benefits of it's natural resources. The Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois are opposed to Saskatchewan receiving those benefits and the federal NDP has studiously avoided the issue.

---

Suck it Trost.

Suck it long and suck it hard.

McDonalds answers some tough questions

I kid you not. At the British Website for McDonalds they have a number of frequently asked questions.

I want to know how many times this question was asked:

That' s right - Why did your emplyees [sic] ejactulate [sic] into my grandmother's milkshake?

Some Teenager can get nuclear fusion but the government can't?

So here is the story:

---

In 2006 Thiago Olson joined the extremely sparse ranks of amateurs worldwide who have achieved nuclear fusion with a home apparatus. In other words, he built the business end of a hydrogen bomb in his basement. The plasma "star in a jar"—shown at the left—demonstrated his success.

---

Are you telling me this kid (who had to take time off to play high school sports) can get some sort of fusion deal working in his basement and the government can't fund the research to make this stuff happen?

Come on.

Imagine for a second if the provincial and federal governments put 1/2 as much money into research for alternative energy as they did into conventional energy sources.

For example, imagine if the University of Regina and the Provincial Government had gotten together and made an alternative energy research center instead of a petroleum research center

Think about it - Regina would be a world leader in wind, solar or something else, instead of wasting valuable public funding on a resource that will not only run out, but is polluting the atmosphere.

That would be progressive

Fox News in Trouble?

We can only hope.

From mydirectdemocracy:

---

In all likelihood, Fox News has a less profitable and less influential demographic base than CNN, which is why their larger audience isn't translating to higher profits. Their partisan branding problem is probably something that's always made them nervous and something they've always papered over with an aggressive 'Fair and Balanced' branding campaign (Air America, which is overt about its ideology, has trouble with advertisers).

---

Yep. That's Fox News - Fair And Balanced:

Blogger Beta and Post Footers

Hey - so I finally got the footer code to work for post in the new blogger so now people can vote on progressive bloggers for my posts, and add them to their bookmarks in a couple of different ways.

I know probably that everyone else has already figured this out and so it isn't a big deal but I am pretty proud all the same.

Look below to see what I am talking about:

Update: So just after I made this post someone e-mailed this to me and it was just to appropriate not to add to this post.

In some small way, these social bookmarking tags below are part of something bigger....

On the Blogging Dippers Controversy Part III (and Final)

You all know the deal with this so I am not even going to link to my previous 2 posts on this topic.

So to show the difference between somebody with class and somebody without class we will ook at the following examples.

Robert McClelland shows class:

---

As you all know, recently I made a remark in the comments of a post that many people felt was offensive to Jews and crossed the boundaries of what constitutes good behaviour in the blogosphere.My comment was never intended to cause offense to anyone but it did and so I sincerely apologize for making it.

---

It wasn't a faux apology and even though it may (or may not) have been driven by the voting results of the blogging dippers site - you cannot deny that it takes a big man to admit they were wrong and say they are sorry.

Warren Kinsella on the other hand in his National Post Article shows he is sort of a dick

---

Robert McClelland (if that is his real name) is a blogger in the London area. For years, McClelland has posted some of the most offensive -- and stridently anti-Semitic -- material in the Canadian blogosphere.

---

Arrrrg. Get over yourself Warren.

And as for the "if that is his real name" game set, and match goes to Robert for his response here.

And as for Cherniak?

He is still going at it - and this part made me laugh out loud:

---

As I've discussed before, I don't actually like getting into "ethnic politics".

---

Shut the Fuck Up Jason.

At least Warren has earned the right to be a dick - you haven't.

This is why the NDP has allways stood up for civil liberties

One of the main reasons that I have been proud of the New Democratic Party over the years is our stance on civil liberties. From Tommy Douglas et. al. voting against the War Measures Act to the NDP being the only party to be consistently opposed to the Anti-Terrorism stupidity coming out of the federal government in recent years (that the liberals enacted opposed)

Why?

Because of stuff like this

---

Americans learned today that the F.B.I. has been abusing its authority under the Patriot Act to obtain private information about American citizens without judicial approval. So says a report issued today by the Department of Justice’s inspector general.

---

Priests to purify site after Bush visit

link

---

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

---

Is Coner Gas Ending?

I can't figure this out. I read this from the Edmonton Journal:

---

Corner Gas, the hit comedy about a the quirky characters living in a fictitious Saskatchewan town, is closing shop.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make a guest appearance on next week’s final episode.

In a news release today, CTV says the series will air its last episode March 12 with Brent closing his gas station and Lacy leaving the Ruby and moving back to Toronto.

---

And this looks pretty final to me

But there is this that sort of gives me hope that all is not lost.

Anyone heard any more about this that me?

On the NDP Blogging Controversy Part II

Read part I here wherein a the administrator of the blogging dippers makes a comment that is in poor taste and as a result the blogging dippers, progressive bloggers, liberal bloggers and possiby the Federal NDP all go nuts.

Discussion Point 1 - Robert McClelland

He made the correct and valid point that he is not "in charge" of the blogging dippers nor is affiliated with the federal party. He also has worked to put up discussion pieces for the blogging dippers to work through this issue. I defend freedom of speech and so Mr. McClelland had every right to say what he said. However, it was (in my opinion) offensive and should not have been said.

Discussion Point 2 - Progressive Bloggers

However, for the progressive bloggers to summarily remove him from the blog rolls is a bit of an overreaction in my opinion. It is not as if there were not enough condemnations of him floating around the net that they could reasonably argue that his speech was being tolerated or accepted.
Couldn't they have made an editorial statement saying that these types of posts were not welcome and that if another one was made THEN he would be removed?

It just makes me wonder what I will say that will get me banned someday?

Update: And I am not the only one

Uperdate: I have modified this post so many times I have lost track, but I got some e-mails about this and I wanted to be clear.

1) Progressive Bloggers has the right to ban whomever they want - I just don't agree with this particualr decision.

2) Scott Tribe has been a gentleman about the whole thing: see here here and particularly here


Discussion Point 3 - Jason Cherniak

A post from my discussion yesterday said:

---

Frankly, given Jason's past BS attacks on the NDP, I quite frankly think that he is doing this for Rovian reasons - using the cudgel of anti-semitism as a weapon to attack his opponents and political enemies. I think his self-congratulatory post shows that. Anything for political advantage to the Liberals

[snip]

right now I think Jason is one of the most dangerous people in the political blogshpere. Don't cross him, because he can fuck you up, as this incident clearly shows.

---

which I thought was a bit unfair (at least the second part). However, Jason is far from having clean hands on these types of issues as Eugene Plawiuk points out on his blog. Cherniak can try to spin this all he wants but the fact is that he was taking advantage of the situation to attack the NPD.

If you want Jason's arguments completely and utterly trashed then read this post by Idealistic Pragmatist on the topic. Or even (warning: blogging tory link) here

Update: to sum it all up I go to Mike's comments over here

---

Robert may insult my sensibilities, but Jason endangers my liberty. I know which of the two worries me more.

---

However, my major beef isn't with Jason, it is with the Federal Party that gave him the ammunition to do this, which brings me to my next point

Discussion Point 4 - The Federal NDP

I guess there will be a blogging dipper "official" blog roll from the Federal NDP. Hopefully this will lead them getting a freeeking clue when it comes to the blogosphere (read my comments from part I)

For example, why the hell does Cherniak get to throw these facts in my face (from the comments section of yesterday's post)

---

To be fair to your party, though, none of the NDP bloggers have a readership equivalent to me or Kinsella.

---

And he gets to add insult to injury by pointing this out in his blog:

---

When Jack Layton did a blog interview, it was with the head of the Blogging Tories. Today, when the NDP wanted to counteract Mr. McClelland's comment and disclaim any connection to him, they used me and Warren Kinsella.

---

these are all true facts, and the Federal NDP needs to give it's head a shake. If you want the NDP blogs to cover NDP-related news then, oh, I don't know......tell NDP blogs the news?

Nah, that'll never work.

However, this plan is not without it's own possible problems. As the Jurist points out this could lead to MORE of these types of situations, not less.

And for more possible problems read the post (and comments) over here

Discussion Point 5 - The Blogging Dippers

Major hat tips need to go out to Northern BC dipper for this

and the Mind of a Netjin for this

and especially leethaxor for setting this all up

Update: My comments posters corrected me - it was Netjin that set it all up - my bad.

The blogging dippers are starting to band together to deal with this situation and for that those mentioed above (and others if I forgot you) should be commended.

Unlike the progressive bloggers the blogging dippers are attempting to set up a democratic process with open and transparent debate.

I'm not sure this is the answer to the problem, but already the blogging dippers have proved to be better at dealing with this situation than either the progressive bloggers or the Federal NDP.

On the NDP Blogging Controversy

So based on this post the person who runs the blogging dippers aggregator seems to have ignited a firestorm of protest across the blogosphere. Most notably from Liberals (who might, just might, not have the NDP's best interests at heart) such as Cherniak and Kinsellsa

Normaly I would say that this is the libblogers traditional overt-the-top rhetoric towards the NDP, I mean, Jason "the NDP is sick" Cherniak is not exactly our best friend, right?

But now the federal party went and got involved.

Jason now has a copy of a letter from the President of the federal party wherein she says the following:

---

I am writing in regard to some highly offensive comments that appear on a blog operated by Robert McClelland The statements allegedly made by Mr. McClelland are repugnant and in no way represent the views of our Party.

I want to assure you that the New Democratic Party of Canada, its provincial sections and local riding associations are not affiliated with Mr. McClelland or his independently operated blogroll, the "blogging dippers"

The NDP is undertaking the development of a new blog roll that better reflects the views and needs of the New Democrats in the blogosphere

---

So here's is what pisses me off. Robert goes out of his way to admit that he is not affiliated with the NDP (and rightfully so) .

However, even though I disagree with his speech, he has done a service for the blogging dipper community.

The fact that I had to find out about this from a Liberal web page, from an anti-ndp liberal blogger goes to show me that the federal NDP just doesn't get it.

They couldn't find ONE SINGLE NDP BLOGGER TO POST THIS?!!!???!!!??

Good luck getting a party blog site started when you treat the actual bloggers of your party like crap guys!

Robert deserved to get at least a copy of the letter cc'ed to him and the rest of the blogging dippers deserved a heads up.

Update: Some other blogging dippers have gotten in no the act and most are of a similar line to me. Canadian Observer points out that Cherniak is silly and takes a shot at the Party President

Northern BC Dipper also points out the hypocracy of Cherniak but doesn't address the the Federal Party's involvement

the bigwigs in the blogosphere all weight in here

And then there is some more here, here here and here

Uperdate: And still some more, and more, but the best quote comes from a comment in Cherniak's post:

---

Dammit, Cherniak, things are rocky enough right now without up-thrusting young Liberals trying to make cheap political hay out of this mess, and defensive NDP officials going nuts on us.

You let us progressives clean house, as most assuredly we will. Just stop telling us what to do. We don't need you or Anne McGrath trying to make the Blogging Dippers crowd collectively responsible for the outrageous comments of one blogger. (I'm not a BDer myself, incidentally.)

Anne's announced intention to set up a new NDP blogroll, with her innuendo about the Blogging Dippers, is unconscionable. Her reaction may delight you, and shore up some political support at the same time, but there's a lot of mud in the air at the moment, flung at a lot of decent people, and it would be nice if that sort of thing were to cease.

The last thing we need is widening the loop on this, to take in the NDP brass, the Liberal Party and the Canadian Jewish Congress. I'm amazed the starboard side of the blogosphere hasn't been eating this one for lunch already, but thanks to you and Anne, it'll be any minute now. Then we'll all wear this crap. Thanks a bunch.

---

Again, I would like to point our that this debate could be happing on an NDP blog with links incoming and traffic broadening if the NDP would USE THEIR OWN BLOGGERS INSTEAD OF GIVING LIBERAL BLOGS THE SCOOPS.

Even more uperdate: So Northern BC dipper (to his credit) is trying to make some positive suggestions to move forward. See, now that didn't take long before blogging dippers started weighing in and trying to fix things, but the Federal Party has put a kybosh on that by saying (to the media and liberal bloggers before talking to us) that they are creating their own blogroll.

So now what can we do but wait and see what the geniuses at federal office are going to come up with?

*sigh*

Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) Is a Moron

Quote:

"I have been called -- my kids are all aware of this -- dumb, crazy man, science abuser, Holocaust denier, villain of the month, hate-filled, warmonger, Neanderthal, Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun,... and I can just tell you that I wear some of those titles proudly."

which ones do you "wear proudly"? Holocaust denier? Attila the Hun? Science Abuser?

*sheeesh*

Even the media doesn't know what to do with Dick Cheney

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

that was great.

What's that?

Oh, right,

the link

Kurt Vonnegut says George W. Bush is the "syphilis president"

I guess he can draw a crowd:

---

On a cold, cloudy night, the lines threaded all the way around the Ohio State campus. News that Kurt Vonnegut was speaking at the Ohio Union prompted these “apathetic” heartland college students to start lining up in the early afternoon. About 2,000 got in to the Ohio Union. At least that many more were turned away. It was the biggest crowd for a speaker here since Michael Moore.

---

best quote ever:

---

“Well,” says Vonnegut, “I just want to say that George W. Bush is the syphilis president.”

The students seem to agree.

“The only difference between Bush and Hitler,” Vonnegut adds, “is that Hitler was elected.”

---

What's wrong with this web site?

look around and let me know

link

hint: it's not the annoying bubbling water, look lower, .....lower,...... there you go.

Bush and Osama have a lot in common (funny)

ABC Thinks Gore will run too

From my blog to their ears

---

Now let's talk chops. Gore's an enlisted Vietnam vet who served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, two terms in the Senate, and eight years as vice president in one of the most successful administrations ever. Let's not forget that he won the popular vote in 2000, and as many say, the Electoral College as well.

So wait, he's hip, he's brilliant, he's highly experienced. Is America ready for a real leader after two terms of a guy who makes Jim Carrey's "Dumb and Dumber" character seem downright cerebral? You bet your asinine Bush-isms it is.

---

Yeah, Yeah, It's not like this is my original idea or anything, but I am staring to feel the momentum building.

Acadamy Award winner Al Gore announces his run for president

Not really,

But it has a great ring to it, doesn't it? :-)

Actually, it was a good gag:

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Former Vice President Al Gore -- the central figure in the global-warming film "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary nominee -- appeared with DiCaprio to praise organizers for implementing environmentally friendly practices in the show's production.

DiCaprio set up a gag with Gore, asking the 2000 presidential candidate if there was anything he wanted to announce.

"I guess with a billion people watching, it's as good a time as any. So my fellow Americans, I'm going to take this opportunity here and now to formally announce my intentions ...," Gore said, his voice trailing away as the orchestra cut him off.

---

This whole "Internet" thing might just take off

In the US - don't run for office if you are an atheist

So according to polling report in the US:



You are much better off being a women, or a hispanic, or some other traditionally discriminated person that to be an atheist.

I wonder how much different the numbers would be in Canada?

George Bush Decision Flowchart (funny)

A framework for progressive agreement

In Part I I asked if it was possible for the left-of-center parties in Canada to unite to form a winning coalition.

In Part II I laid out the first principles and philosophical underpinnings of such an alliance.

---

I believe that this core set of personal liberties coupled with the concern for the worst-off in society that can be the guiding force behind a progressive party. I know that as a New Democrat that I can support this position and I think most Liberals can as well. Extending the principle to concern for the environment (you don't know when you will be born either so you don't want a world that will be destroyed shortly) gets the Greens as well. The protection of minority rights inside a state is important to the Bloq and if they can agree to work within a united state to achieve their goals (and if they believe the state is committed to the above framework then I think this is possible).

---

So now the hard part begins, what are the actual guidelines that a progressive coalition could support?

1) Acceptance of the mixed economy.

So I have already lost the socialists (fine, fine) but quite frankly modern society has come to the realization that for many goods and services the open market (you will note "open" not "free") is the most efficient mechanism. Also, and this is what separates us from the Conservatives, we believe that the free market is not a one-size-fits-all solution and sometimes it is not the most efficient way to deliver a service (think health care) . The trick is to figure out when there is a market failure (whenever there is a negative externality - to use economic speak) and how to correct for that failure. (For more on this I direct you to Joseph Heath's The Efficient Society)

2) Seeking Administrative efficiency from government

Another thing that differentiates us from conservatives is our believe that government can be a solution - it is not the problem. However, often government can be cumbersome and ineffective and as such is up to progressives to fix it. Conservatives will simply point to this and use it as an excuse to scrap government programs. Progressives need to start talking about things like target controls, effective auditing, flexible decision structures and employee participation. Government can take lessons from the private sector on many things and use that information to provide solutions for problems that the private sector cannot grapple with.

3) Environmental Sustainability

This is yet another difference between us and the conservatives, we actually believe in democratic governments governing in the interests of people, both current and future generations when it comes to the environment. The environment is a classic example of a market failure (see point 1) and as such progressive forces need to martial non-market solutions
to the problem before the entire planet falls victim to the worst tragedy of the commons ever.

4) The renewal of civic society and the protection of minority rights.

Another major difference between us and the conservatives is that we believe that state and civil society should act in partnership to provide maximum freedom to citizens. It has been a tenant of liberal thought for three-hundred years that individuals should be allowed to pursue their own conception of the "good" and that government should focus on the "right." That's fine as one half of the picture but as Isaiah Berlin points out there are two types of liberty, positive liberty he associated with the idea of self-mastery, or the capacity to determine oneself, to be in control of one's destiny. The state should provide us negative liberty by allowing us to conduct our own affairs, but the state should promote civil society so that we have the capacity
to seek that self-determinism.

5) Equality as Inclusion

Both the left and the right claim that they are seeking equality, but our conceptions of that equality are very different. The right wants all people treaded exactly the same regardless of circumstance or environment. Progressives can rally behind the idea that, while we have to overcome such problems as the creation of a moral hazard, (more economics speak) the state should make social investments in people to help them live up to their full potential. Sometimes this can happen inside a universal program, such a public education, but sometimes there are groups that need special help so we can create "one-off" programs such as affirmative action, to promote the interests of a few in the pursuit of the overall best solution for all.

I hope to lay out some more thoughts on each of these topics over the next few days.

Tell me what you think? Are those the values of maximum liberty while limiting liberty for the sake of the least well off in society (see part II) that progressives can rally behind?

Can Progressives Unite the Left?

My post of a couple of days ago (that sparked one of my best comment debates ever) was the provocatively titled Wither the NDP? which put forward the following premise:

---

We have all heard the Benjamin Franklin quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". I think that Tommy would agree.

Just like he did in 1961.

I think it is time to take a lesson from, of all people, Preston Manning. We on the left need to unite the left and create a winning coalition.

I am calling on the NDP, the Green Party, the Bloq (without the separatist angle) and the Liberals, the former PROGRESSIVE conservatives and others too think about this.

---

I then said in the comments that I would lay out what it was that I thought could unite us.

And so it begins.

I want to start with first principles. What philosophical rational for a political party can New Democrats, Left-Liberals, Greens, non-sepratist Bloq and others actually agree on.

I think the best chance is John Rawls Theory of Justice

Imagine for a second that you are floating in space, above the earth and you don't know who you are and where you are from.

Suddenly an angle (or demon, or whatever) appears and says, "You are an unborn child, I am about to place you with your parents, that you do not know, in a position that you do not know - but before I do that you get to decide how the earth is organized. Once you have set up the earth in the manner in which you like then I will place you with your unknown parents and you will live your life"

What kind of world would you choose?

Remember that you don't know how you would end up so, for example, you wouldn't want to create a world with slavery because you might become a slave, you wouldn't create a world where minorities are mistreated because you might be a minority.

Rawl's book goes through all the facets of a society that you would and wold not want in this world before you are placed in it.

He argues that this would create the "fairest" of all possible worlds.

Without getting too in depth into the argument (and it is a very, very good argument) here is what the bottom line is:

---

First: each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others.

Second: Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that:

a) offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of fair
equality of opportunity

b) they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of
society (the difference principle).

---

In other words, liberal freedoms where the only restrictions that are placed on us are for the benefit of the worst off (because we might be born as the worst off.)

I believe that this core set of personal liberties coupled with the concern for the worst-off in society that can be the guiding force behind a progressive party. I know that as a New Democrat that I can support this position and I think most Liberals can as well. Extending the principle to concern for the environment (you don't know when you will be born either so you don't want a world that will be destroyed shortly) gets the Greens as well. The protection of minority rights inside a state is important to the Bloq and if they can agree to work within a united state to achieve their goals (and if they believe the state is committed to the above framework then I think this is possible).

Obviously this is pie-in-the-sky and the real test will come in the following days when I lay out how this principle should be translated into guiding principles and issues that can form the basis of a governing plan and an election manifesto.

Raid kills bugs dead (funny)

Wither the NDP?

Mr. Stefaniuk over at the Sask Citizens Federation makes the argument that others have made over the years that the NDP should either merge with the liberals or "re-brand" as a true left-of-center party.

In my opinion Tommy Douglas would ask us - as new democrats - what are we doing?

The CCF was formed in 1932

31 years laster in 1961 the NDP was formed.

It is now 41 years later

Wouldn't Douglas be asking if we succeeded?

And wouldn't our answer have to be no?

We have never formed even the official opposition - never mind the government.

Douglas would say that we have failed. He would urge us to think bigger, to dream no little dream, to reach inside ourselves and make a change that we might not be comfortable with.
Just like he did in 1961.

We have all heard the Benjamin Franklin quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". I think that Tommy would agree.
Just like he did in 1961.

I think it is time to take a lesson from, of all people, Preston Manning. We on the left need to unite the left and create a winning coalition.

I am calling on the NDP, the Green Party, the Bloq (without the separatist angle) and the Liberals, the former PROGRESSIVE conservatives and others too think about this.

What unites us is more important that what divides us.

The Greens will object because they are just becoming prominent and don't want to lose that.

The Bloq cannot give up separatism.

The Liberals cannot give up their arrogance and belief that they are the natural governing party.

The NDP cannot give up the notion that we are the only voice for the left and ideological purity means more than forming government.

All of us will continue to fight among ourselves while the Conservatives grow stronger.

I want a progressive party, one that speaks to my values and has a reasonable chance of forming government.

I don't have that right now. The NDP speak to my values but cannot form a government. The Liberals can form a government but cannot speak to my values.

I am prepared to compromise and work together with other like-minded people to find the common ground and move forward. Naturaly this will be viewed by the NDP as "selling out"

The cheep seats always win in our party.

read part II

The only time it is OK to do what President Nixon did

A stiff vice president campaigns on his administration's legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in the race, he re-enters the fray. Promises to change the course of a disastrous war founded on lies. And charges to victory. I'm referring, of course, to the 1968 campaign of Richard Milhous Nixon. But four decades later, history has a chance to repeat itself for Albert Arnold Gore.

read more here

Saskatchewan Premier Calls Election Campaign

How's that for a provocative headline?

News Story

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Voters in the Saskatoon-area constituency of Martensville will be going to the polls in a byelection March 5.

On Monday, Premier Lorne Calvert called an election in the constituency that has been vacant since the death of Saskatchewan Party MLA Ben Heppner last September.

Calvert said he wanted the election to be held before the start of the spring sitting of the legislature, March 7.

Heppner's daughter Nancy has been nominated by the Saskatchewan Party. The Liberals have nominated Nathan Friesen, while the New Democrats have chosen John Tzupa as their candidate.

---

What is the difference between Iraq and Vietman?

---

According to the Baptist Church - Jesus Loves Osama Bin Laden

According to this story

Is it warm in here - or is it just the UN?

I bet this doesn't get a whole lot of coverage on blogging torries

---

It is now beyond doubt that the Earth's climate is warming and it is "very likely" that most of the increase since the mid-20th century is the result of mankind's activities, a panel of UN scientists reported today.

---

But it gets even better (or worse, depending on how you look at it)

---

Achim Steiner, director general of the UN Environment Programme, said the report was a "critical milestone" and Feb 2 2007 would be remembered as "the day the question mark was removed" from the question of whether mankind was warming the planet.

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If the environment wasn't on Canadians' minds before, reports like this will put it there

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