… quite well, I’d say…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… no particular theme edition…

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A big problem with social media is that it gives idiots, racists, bigots, misogynists, etc., a tool to spew their ignorant venom.

And such was the case the other night after Joel Ward scored in OT to knock the Bruins put of the NHL playoffs.

Assholes.

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A successful Wildrose candidate blamed urban Alberta for the PC win the other day.

Bikman said Tuesday: “I think that these social issues that came up during the last week and the PC’s ability to exploit them, caused some concern in the voters within urban areas, at least, because they didn’t really understand the issues, they didn’t really understand that there was an aspect of free speech.”

Bikman also said rural people “possess more common sense, a least that’s my experience.

“The people who make their living off the land really seem to understand the way nature really works.”

Yup, Myrtle, you country-folk have way more sense than those city-folk with all that learnin’ and stuff!

LOL!

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Lots of email phishing going on these days. Even if you know the sender, think twice about clicking on links if something seems not quite right…

I wonder where that phish has gone.
You did love it so. You looked after it like a son.
And it went wherever I did go.
Is it in the cupboard?
Yes! Yes! No!…
Wouldn’t you like to know? It was a lovely little phish.
And it went wherever I did go.
It’s behind the sofa!
Where can that phish be?
It is a most elusive phish!
And it went wherever I did go.
Ooooh, phishy, phishy, phishy phish!
A-phish, a-phish, a-phish, a-phishy, ooooh.
Ooooh, phishy, phishy, phishy phish!
That went wherever I did go.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

It has been confirmed that there was a deliberate hack attack at NDP convention which resulted in on-line voting problems.

Question for someone who is far more technically adept than I: is this something that could be done by anyone with the right skills and knowledge? Or would it require a non-trivial amount of resources to pull it off?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… complete with Dippers, Lisa Raitt, Ashley (boo-yaa) Madison!

And fish trafficking too!

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The NDP leadership convention is this weekend and NDPers from across the nation are flocking to the land of the Toronto Blue Jays (used to be the Leafs) to choose and bless the leader to replace Mr. Jack Layton.

How will they choose? Will they stay the course and keep to their socialist roots? Or will they be more pragmatic than this and pick someone who promised to broaden their appeal to all Canadians by moving toward the centre of the spectrum?

Nick Nanos notes the following:

The fine line this weekend for the NDP will be for the policy driven party members to select the type of leader Canadians expect, while at the same time delivering on populist appeal. Likewise, for fair-weather political junkies (i.e., the majority of Canadians), they will likely tune in to see how well the leadership process is run by the NDP and also whether the winner measures up. Both are key signals that will drive the intermediate term fortunes of the NDP.

Personally, I’d like to see Nathan Cullen take the helm – if for no other reason than the fact that he has endorsed riding-level cooperation among the progressive parties; which is, of course, the only way that this country will rid itself of the disease called Harperitis.

And he has really nice teeth.

As for an outright merger? I don’t think any one of the leadership candidates has the balls to make the changes needed (e.g., remove the whole “socialist-thing” from the party Constitution) to facilitate the marriage. But it will, and must, happen at some point.

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So, if I, say, booed or clapped sarcastically at a certain Treasury Board President if I saw him in the lobby of my building, would I be suspended?

I do not condone wildcat strikes, but it seems that a few Air Canada employees were suspended because they “clapped sarcastically” as Lisa “Back-to-work” Raitt picked up her luggage at Pearson Airport (soon to be renamed “Manning Airport” by the Politburo). And in protest, a num,ber of ground workers walked off the job, illegally.

Again, I don’t agree with illegal strikes, but I also don’t agree that the workers, if the story is accurate, should have been suspended. We all have an enshrined freedom to express our opinions and they were simply exercising that freedom. I would have done something similar in the same situation.

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Ottawa. City of cheaters. At least according to Ashley Madison. You know, that organisation whose sole aim is to make cheating on your partner just a little easier? Those guys.

OTTAWA — Ottawa is the most “cheater-friendly” city in Canada, according to an infidelity website that allows would-be adulterers to hook up.

According to figured collected by AshleyMadison.com, which has 37,800 members in Ottawa and the surrounding area, 3.87 per cent of residents in the capital area have accessed the website’s services at least once.

AshleyMadison.com founder and CEO Noel Biderman is not surprised Ottawa topped the list. It makes sense that Ottawa would have the highest per capita users, he says.

“Compared to the rest of Canada, I don’t know that Ottawa is boring. It’s a place for international people to come and go. There have even been spy scandals.”

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NO HUGGING!

And, I mean, I know it’s The Star, but isn’t this just the laziest article you’ve ever read?

ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP, N.J.—More than 900 students at a New Jersey middle school have been told no more hugging.

The district says Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School Principal Tyler Blackmore made an announcement that students were in a “no hugging school” following some “incidents of unsuitable, physical interactions.”

School Superintendent David Healy says the district has the responsibility to teach children about appropriate interactions.

The superintendent says despite the rule, students who hug will not be suspended.

The superintendent says he believes the principal acted responsibly.

Students range in ages from 11 to 14 in grades six to eight.

Was it “bring your kid to work” day and the Star staff gave the job to a 10 year old?

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Red meat makes people happy… well, duh!

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Finally, fish trafficking – don’t be drawn into the whirlpool of self-destruction!

h/t to Christina for pointing out this gem!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

“Nope,” I said. “They’re too goddamn stupid.”

That’s what Warren Kinsella told Bobby Kennedy Jr. when asked if the NDP and Liberals could ever be persuaded to work together.

And he was right.

As long as the progressive vote is split between the two parties in this fine country, Harpo hasn’t a worry in the world! He has his 25-30 point base and can cobble together enough from the fringes to win majority after majority. The 25-30 percent don’t care about robocalls, prorogation, and the politics of fear. They love the Robot leader and nuthin’ gonna change that, boy!

And, unless smart leaders – those who can do basic math, that is – like Nathan Cullen or perhaps Justin Trudeau are elected as leaders, we’ll see Harper blue for some time to come. So, unless the improbable happens and Cullen is elected the new Dipper boss tomorrow, who leads Layton’s party is irrelevant.

Period.

I’m a Liberal, but not an “engaged” one… I’m the kind that frustrates riding organisations to no end. I pay my membership fee and vote for the local candidate. But I don’t donate to the party, nor do I volunteer at election time. Show me that you can do Grade 3 math and I’ll be there. With a smile and my chequebook.

And you’ll have lots of blue team progressives coming into the tent too. The old school PCs don’t have a home. Give them one.

Is anyone listening?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Eerie, isn’t it?

Redrum, redrum… Regrem, regrem…

Think about it… Mulcair in Jack’s role… Hammering an axe through the Liberal caucus room’s door!

For those of you who don’t get the cultural reference, I pity you.

Seriously, if the progressive voices are to ever unseat the ReformCons, they will have to merge, or at the very least come to some sort of a cooperative agreement.

Yeah, yeah. Bad blood. Whatever. Get over it… else I’ll be collecting a pension before we see something other than a regressive party in power.

Regrem, regrem, Regrem, regrem,Regrem, regrem

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… for cynicism and criticism. There is a time and a place to back off and show some respect.

You’d think that less than 24 hours after the death of a Canadian who was respected by many, many of his countrymen and women is not the time to smear the man, his party or the reaction of Canadians to his untimely death.

But no. Rabid wolves do not have respect for the dead and prefer to tear at the corpse while tributes are still taking place. It gives them a sense of self-importance because they can say – HA, I’m not buying this shit. He was just another guy who died from cancer. Big deal. One less socialist.

Of course Jack Layton was a political man. This is no surprise… or shouldn’t be. He breathed politics 24/7 and sought advantage for himself and his party where it could be gained because he firmly believed that what he did was in the best interest of Canada. He really did. Just as Harper and his followers believe that what they do is best, so did Mr. Layton.

The reaction to his death was predictable. Or should have been. He was a likeable guy. The kind of guy you can picture sitting down in a bar with and shooting the shit… can’t picture doing that with Harper. And the letter? It should have been predictable too. Ever the politico, Mr. Layton saw nothing wrong in penning a “letter from the grave”. From a personal point of view, it likely gave him some comfort. From a political point of view, he would have known that contents of the letter would be copied and published widely – and this sure wouldn’t hurt the party fortunes.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. He was what he was. A fine Canadian who worked hard for his family, party and country.

So now some right-wing journos, commentators and Tweeps are blathering on about the praise being foisted on the guy. And hey, I am not one to fawn over anyone easily. There should be criticism as well as praise whenever looking back at someone’s life. Yes, the praise was uncritical praise for Layton yesterday but that’s OK, isn’t it? It was after all, THE DAY HE DIED.

Have some respect, you wolves, we Canucks are mostly caring and compassionate folks and know that there is a time and place for criticism and a time and a place for unabashed tributes. Back off.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

This popped into my Inbox this morning.

I thought it was a recruitment drive for the NDP… I was going to send back a note asking them to cease the spam…

I was wrong.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Fave editorial cartoon of the day, thanks to Brian Gable.

Fact is that Jack is certainly going to have his hands full for the foreseeable future. But, hey! I don’t think he minds this kind of challenge!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

I’m sure to be posting more than a few things from now through E-Day, so, today, I am focussing on:

KITTENS!

Awwwwwwww…..

*SLAP*

Whew. Thanks. I needed a bit of slap upside the head just there!

1) A windy day in O Dot yesterday. I swear I saw Dorothy AND Winnie the Pooh AND my recycling bins flying east over St. Laurent! Were these the political winds of change that I’ve been hearing so much about?

Speaking of my recycling bins, has anyone seen them? One is black and one is blue.  They could be anywhere east of Canterbury HS. Please contact me if you spot them.

2) Warren Kinsella posted this link to the world’s first zombie-proof house! And it’s about time!

Guess we know where the Harperites will scatter to if the polls hold to the 2nd and the socialist hordes take power!

3) Barack Obama caved to the lunatic fringe (aka, the GOP) and produced his “long form” birth certificate to prove that he is indeed, an American.

Two questions:

• Does Canada have a “long form” birth certificate? And if we do, has Harper done away with it and replaced it with a voluntary birth certificate?
• Will Harper follow suit and produce his birth certificate? That would put away all of those nasty rumours about being a robot and all. Just sayin’..

4)  Here’s what Iggy said to the CPC the other day:

5) Finally, on a completely non-political note, I wanted to wish the best of luck to the son of a friend and colleague of mine on an adventure he has been on since last year.

Shayne Orok has made into the final 5 of what can be best described as Korea’s version of American Idol. This achieved in spite of the fact that he doesn’t speak Korean AND that he has been away from his (very close) family for months now AND that there were about a gazillion entrants to start with!

This kid has a talent, man! I hope he remembers the nice bald man who said hi to him at the office Xmas party 6 years ago!

Given him a listen.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario