A cold winter’s day here in the nation’s capital sees many hunkered down in their houses with the furnace cranked and an extra blanket or two. Not so for me as I’m writing this on my way to work on the 7 am-ish 148. Not many of us on the bus this morning. No big surprise there. But I’m going to take the opportunity to get some concentration-intensive work done. This time of the year is relatively disturbance-free and one can accomplish much.

But on the way, I’m starting to think about what I will be relfecting on this time next year with regard to the Fools on the Hill… hmmm…

1. Harper will once again prorogue Parliament. This is getting to be old hat for the ol’ robotman and this seems to be as good a time as any… what with torture stuff still percolating and the endless risks of the Minions (MPs) speaking what they are thinking.
2. Spring comes. The threat of H1N1 ends. The economy is picking up steam. The Leafs are on the way to the playoffs… what a great time for an election! Stevo introduces legislation that would make the wearing of red ties punishable under the Criminal Code.  He also expropriates all of the country’s main hockey arenas to be used as regional “War Rooms” in the upcoming election. He likes the photo op potentials. All of the Opposition Parties vote against the Bill and a vote is called for May 16.
3. May 16. The ReformCons are re-elected. Again with a minority. None of the party’s popular vote changes by more than 0.7% compared to the last election.
4. The knives come out and are pointed at Stevo.
5. By mid-July, Stevo is out and little-known backbencher Candice Hoeppner. Being best known as the MP who introduced the Private Member’s Bill to cancel the Long-gun Registry, she decides to further capitalize on this fame by introducing another gun-related Bill – a Criminal Code Amendment making it an offensive to NOT carry a gun on one’s person at all times.
6. Every urban area in Canada – including Calgary and Edmonton – threatens to secede.
7. The Government is once again defeated in the House on a Grit-introduced Confidence Motion… making PM Hoeppner’s reign the shortest in Canada’s history!
8. An election is called for December 29th.

So, this time next year, I predict that I will riding to work that day, and preparing to cast my second federal ballot of 2010. And thinking of moving to a place with a more stable democracy. Like Italy, for example.

Happy New Year everyone!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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As someone in the information collection industry, I tend to look to look at polling numbers with a bit of a critical eye. Sample sizes and distributions, question wording and order and the presence of absence of any group (e.g., political) affiliation always plays on my mind when I see the “latest numbers”.

That being said, I have the utmost respect and admiration for how Nik Nanos goes about his business. He is informed, employs scientific, robust methodologies and has no apparent vested interest in the results that he produces.

This is why I don’t really give any great cred to most of the other polling firms. Most but not all (Environics and Decima are also respectable) have an agenda biasing their research that is more often than not funded by a political master or someone beholding to a political master. Not so with Nik.

I have the latest Nik on the Numbers emailed to me as soon as they are available and are often the highlight on my data-filled day.

Yes, I am that lame.

From collection ending Nov. 10:

Looking at which of the party leaders Canadians believe would make the best Prime Minister, Stephen Harper now leads by a significant, 17 point, margin over over Michael Ignatieff. This represents the widest gap since Ignatieff was elected leader of the Liberal Party.

Factoring the advantage in the ballot box and on the best PM front, the Conservatives currently have the upper hand. The dilemma they face is that their numbers are strong but it is difficult to take advantage of it politically because of the Harper communications mantra that “this isn’t a good time for an election”.

Likewise, with a defeat in parliament at the hands of the opposition parties not imminent, it is hard for the Tories to plead the instability or unworkability of parliament.

Dead on.

Harper is in an enviable situation. The economy is on the upswing. His MPs haven’t done anything way too moronic lately. He is looking less like a robot and more like a cyborg.

And there is really no serious opposition. The recent by election results have confirmed this.

The Grits are in big trouble as Iggy has yet to define himself in any meaningful way. I’m sorry Warren et al, but he just hasn’t done it for Canadians yet. This lack of an identifiable Opposition leader has given the ReformCons ample opportunities to slip in their agenda relatively unopposed because they know that if the Opposition were to bring the Government down on a confidence motion at the moment, a Harper majority – and possibly a large one – would be the result.  Then the Harperites could go back to pleasing their base of the support (western social conservatives) by passing legislation that will have little appeal outside of the West or rural, backwoods ridings. But it won’t matter at that point since he will have been given a firm mandate for 4 years and damn the bleeding hearts to hell if the abortion, capital punishment, anti-drug issues are back front-and-centre and environmental initiatives and social programs are shelved.

I have warned the Grits before that if they did not get down to the business of having Iggy grab an issue – any issue – and running with it, then the Cons would continue to frame the debate to their advantage. And they have.  This could have been mitigated if Iggy had:

• Not been invisible last summer
• Stood up as the champion of the Canadian health care system while it was being assailed south of the border. Even the Albertans would have applauded this!
• Clearly enunciated a distinctive environmental policy that would move us toward lessening our GHGs
• Fill in any other example you can think of

So what is Harpy to do? In my mind, he is correct from a strategic perspective to not force an election right now. Canucks are too preoccupied by the Piggy Flu, the onset of cold weather and how much the Leafs are sucking this season.

His chance will come in the spring when the economy has picked up a bit more steam, the flowers are blooming and Canadians from coast to coast emerge from their annual winter funk. Around the beginning of April, I reckon, Stevo will introduce poison pill legislation that none of the 3 Opposition parties can stomach.

And unless the Cons stumble badly over the winter, we’ll be looking a predominantly blue HoC by June.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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My love of all things political has been a part of me as long as I remember. It matured while a Grade 13 student under the tutelage of an awesome Canadian history teacher – and further developed through involvement in university political groups, municipal level committees and finally as a municipal councillor and as a federal candidate.

One of the things I liked most about my political life was that I was able to meet and speak with a wide variety of people with a wide variety of views on things… many of which I did not share but nonetheless respected.  The best singular time in my life in this respect was while I was the proud owner and operator of a french fry truck.

Yes, I was the “Fry Guy”!

It was the perfect occupation for a guy like me. I cooked a food that I love for a living (well, it was a meagre living and only lasted a year… but hey, I like to remember the good times) and, due to the nature of the biz, I yacked and yacked and yacked with my customers about everything from weaknesses in the theory that human beings behave rationally from an economic perspective to what was the perfect window cleaner (vinegar). Loved that short period in my life. And I still make a damn mean fry!

So, when I see articles about french fries, I have a professional interest. While trolling Fox News in search of some comic relief, I came across this article on the seacrh for the perfect french fry potato. “Perfect” meaning “willingness to be used by Scrawny Ronnie’s.

Here are some facts that I found of interest:

• In 2007 total world production of potatoes was more than 320 million tonnes, and about 2/3 were consumed by people as food. The other 1/3 is used as animal feed, and as potato starch in pharmaceuticals, textiles, adhesives, and in the wood & paper industries, etc.
• MacDonald’s buys more than 3.4 billion pounds of U.S. potatoes annually
• The company still relies on the Russet Burbank for many of its fries, even though this 130-year-old variety takes an eternity to mature, gulps water and falls victim to rots and other diseases, meaning farmers must douse it in chemicals.
• Coming up with a reliable new variety takes years. The Premier Russet emerged from the breeder’s greenhouse in the early 1990s, but wasn’t released for commercial growers until 2006. Along the way, it underwent storage trials at facilities near the tiny farming town of Kimberly.
• At the McDonald’s campus in Oak Brook, Illinois, perfume-wearing intruders are shooed from tasting rooms, to prevent contamination of french fries samples randomly pulled from restaurants around America for monthly scrutiny by representatives of the company’s three main suppliers: J.R. Simplot Co. of Boise, Canada’s McCain Foods Ltd., and Omaha-based Con-Agra Foods Inc.

As well, one of the earliest references we have to British ‘chips’ (French Fries in the U.S.) is in Charles Dicken’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ (1859): “husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.”

Reluctant?

My idea of the perfect fry? Par-fired twice at a temperature no lower than 475 F – in good quality canola oil. Finish with 4-5 minutes more in the frier. Top with salt and malt.

Yummy!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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Never one to miss a chance to score some political points, Stevie lays the groundwork for blaming the Grits et al if the refugee claimant system isn’t “fixed”.

Mr. Harper insisted the visa obligation for Mexicans will remain in place until Canada’s refugee system is fixed, calling on opposition parties to join his party in reforming Canada’s refugee system to discourage bogus claimants.

“The visas will stay as long as the problem exists,” he said.

“Parliament should be seized with this issue [and] I hope our Parliament will take advantage of the attention that’s been brought on this issue to deal with this problem,” Mr. Harper said.

Next to come will be:

• blaming the previous regime (the Liberals) for not doing something about this during their (brrr…) reign of terror

• the introduction of legislation that will be just contentious enough to fall outside the “we’ll sign on the dotted line” zone of approval for one of the Opposition parties.

• attack ads labelling Iggy as being soft on bogus refugees and hence soft on terror… or something like that. The words “soft on” will most definitely be used.

Just watch. He is becoming so bloody predictable.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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On the political stage

Just noticed that Iggy has laid down some conditions that the Harperites will have to meet in order to avoid a no-confidence motion and a summer election.

According to Ignatieff, the government must meet the following four conditions:

• Provide more details about improving the employment insurance system before the House of Commons votes on budget estimates at the end of the week. The government has said it will introduce unspecified new EI proposals in the fall.
• Give more information about the rate of stimulus spending than included in last Thursday’s progress report.
• Show more details on the government’s plan to contain the ballooning deficit, instead of offering what Ignatieff called “rosy projections.”
• Provide clearer answers on the government’s action plan to deal with Canada’s medical isotopes shortage.

Ignatieff said the government’s answers and performance so far on these issues “just aren’t good enough.”

This is a type of “haggling”. The Grits are playing from a strong position in that the economy has nose-dived, the have a new and semi-intelligent leader, the polls are pretty good and, of course, Steve is still a robot. And no one likes robots.

What Iggy is saying is the following:

I will support you and we can all have a nice, election-free summer if you at least give the appearance of cutting me a deal by meeting me halfway and following through on my demands. Or at least some of them.

Due to it’s unpredictability, it’s a dangerous game when you engage in political haggling. The seller (in this case Harper) can back away and say “Forget it – I’m calling your bluff.” In which case, the one in the role of the buyer (Iggy) must risk losing the “good” that he is bargaining for (the avoidance of an election) or backing down himself and risk losing credibility.

As much as this Trashman would love to see Harper and his merry gang of ReformCons heaved out onto a pile of half-cured compost, he is very nervous about this game that the Grits are playing. It may just backfire and we’ll end up at the polls this summer. Canadians may take out their frustration on the new kid on the block instead of the robot.

Yikes. Careful Michael, careful…

At the store

The teen-monster is doing some training to ready herself for her 3 week stint as a kid’s camp counsellor and last week was my turn to deliver her to said training centre. For whatever reason – and I didn’t want the details… scaaaaarrrrrrrrrrryyyy – the kid was obviously having a bad day / week and it culminated that day in a ruined shoe. Somehow (again, no details please) she caught a lace in a fence and this tore the footwear asunder.

I actually heard about this earlier in the day when she texted me “Daddy – I need new shoes!”

Feeling particularly magnanimous that day, I suggested that on our way home from the training (which was totally “lame”)we stop at the Billings Bridge plaza to see if we couldn’t outfit her in a new pair… was gonna be a rush since closing time was about 15 minutes away. Hurriedly, she tried on a few sizes before settling on a pair and size that she really liked.

“How much?” I asked the sales-dude.

“$89.99”.

“Yikes!”, said I, “how about a discount?”

“Sure, I’ll give you 15% off.”

Huh. It was that easy? I just had to ask? I may be middle-aged, but in no way resemble a senior.

And any commenters claiming the contrary will be immediately flamed and ridiculed.

Our western culture is anti-haggle, with some exceptions. Haggling over the price of a car or a house or negotiating a price at a garage sale is perfectly OK, but we aren’t like those in many Asian or Middle-Eastern nations where the “back and forth” is the norm.

I’m thinking that I’ll do this more often!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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How Conservatives try to distort the truth. Lesson #231.

I recently blogged about this right-wing site that at times will register right off the ol’ cynicism meter.  But I do enjoy my visits there – if not only for the “wtf” factor than anything else.
It is also quite well-written. Although I don’t think the author and I would agree on much past “good morning”, I do respect his talent vis à vis the written word.

But.

I was on the site this morning to see what latest drivel was seeping from the blog. The most recent post was about the “eviction” of the much-aligned Grit, Ruby Dhalla (and man, this guy has some hate on for poor Ruby!).

I, being the curious cat that I am, went immediate to my trusty Globe and Mail to see what their take was on all of this.

Hmm… nothing there.

OK. The National Post would OF COURSE have something… likely a half-page column!

Nope. Nada.

So I Googled her name combined with the word “eviction”.  And the only things that rained out were on a bunch of right-wing blogs… most of them citing the aforementioned Angry in the Great White North blog.

So, I, being the helpful little guy that I am, commented on the posting noting that I couldn’t find this information anywhere else and could someone please help me verify it.

Funny thing is that I can’t find this story anywhere but in the conservative blog world. Can’t find a mention of it in the Star either. Maybe I’m simply not looking hard enough but can someone point me to a source that I can believe?
I always enjoy reading these posts – from a “wtf” perspective. But I cannot believe that even a right-wing blogger would make something like this up!
Convince me otherwise!

THIS set off a number off “uh-oh” type comments. Some of which mentioned the word “libel”.  Soon thereafter, the poster placed a request from the MP’s office asking him to remove the post as it was patently untrue.

Of course, I, being the resourceful soul that I am, saved the original posting before it is erased.

Now, I’m not saying that the Grits or anyone else never tries this thing once in a while, but I would like to think that the non-Harperites would AT THE VERY LEAST do some background work BEFORE posting something that could harm the rep. of a public figure.  This was deceiving, deceitful and shameful.  Not to mention sloppy.

The postscript to this is that the blogger has apologized to the M.P. for the misinformation:

Since I have no reason to doubt this, I’ll retract the statement that
Ruby Dhalla has been evicted.  Appropriate sections have been struck out.

I have asked for clarification on two issues:

• Is the letter legitimate?
• If so, is the
  landlord providing permission for the office to operate?

If the letter is not legitimate, then it would appear that I’ve been snookered by someone who has access to
Ruby Dhalla’s office in order to post a letter on the inside.

If so, I apologize to
Ruby Dhalla, and wonder who would be interested in embarrassing both of us.  I would also like confirmation from
Ruby Dhalla that there is no problems between her and the
landlord.

Final Resolution:
Ruby Dhalla never responded to my requests for more information, including a clarification regarding the original notice terminating the lease.  I retracted the statement that she had been evicted, because despite the content of the letter, Dhalla insisted her office was open.

Fair enough.

I also received third-party confirmation that the letter had been posted.

Finally, I got in touch with the Bailiff, Earl Lewis.  His only statement to me was to say “The matter has been resolved.  I have no further comment”.

So it seems clear that
Ruby Dhalla had gotten into some sort of bind with her
landlord regarding “improvement maintenance and repair requirements”.  It had gotten to the point that the
landlord initiated action to terminate the lease.  At the 11th hour, it seems,
Ruby Dhalla sorted things out.

An honourable retraction and I give him credit for it. But it still does not erase the fact that ReformCons are getting more and more desperate and will stop at NOTHING to discredit the Liberals.
<

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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I thought I would scribble a quick note about the election to the south of the 49th.  I had meant to do this quite a while ago but between work demands (been travelling quite a bit – I am writing this in the business centre of the Montreal Delta) as well as things to do around the house, and being a daddy and a hubby, I just haven’t found the time.

Today stands to be one of the most important in our neighbour’s long history. The choice that Americans make today will resonate for decades to come and around the world. We in Canada cannot ignore the ground shift that is happening in the States. I believe there is a fundamental change happening in the way Americans - particularly young Americans – view their country and their leaders.

It is suddenly important and cool to participate in the electoral process.

And this is, for the most part, due to one guy – Obama.

He has inspired our neighbours at a time when they needed it it the most. Years of blundering by Bush. A deficit and debt that is staggering. A loss of respect around the world. A confused and rudderless domestic policy. All of these have been the trademarks of the past 8 years.

I am not saying that Obama and the Democrats will have a magic pill at their disposal. The once proud country has been dragged into a deep and hollow abyss that will take some effort and pain to climb out from.

Friends and family have from time to time accused me of being anti-American.

This is not the case.

I dearly respect our southern kin and think that the American experiment has been one of the greatest achievement in the annals of human history. And I truly weep to think what Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al have done to belittle this accomplishment. True, I am a proud Canadian and share that Canadian paranoia-envy-wonder that is so typical of my fellow citizens. But I try to temper this with the recognition that Americans are a fine people with a rich heritage that deserve our respect and admiration.

So – in closing – if there are any Americans who are reading this post, please, PLEASE do the right thing today and do not make the same mistake three times in a row! Vote for a future that may reposition your country to that level that it deserves to occupy.

GOOD LUCK TO THE PLANET TODAY!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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From Fair Vote Canada:

The Politics of Fear is Misleading and Polarizing.

Which of You Will Change the Sad Face of Canadian Politics?

Dear Mr. Harper and Mr. Dion:

On behalf of all Canadians who want to believe in democracy,
allow me to express my enormous frustration with this election
campaign.

The leaders of our two largest political parties are acting more
like fear mongers than true leaders.

Stephane Dion, you say Canadians must vote for the Liberal Party,
or Stephen Harper, with a phony majority government, will ruin
Canada as we know it.

Stephen Harper, you say Canadians must vote for the Conservative
Party, or Stephane Dion as head of a phony majority Liberal
government will ruin Canada as we know it.

Is Canada truly in such terrible danger, or are both of you
simply avoiding the core question that any Canadian would ask:

'Why should a leader and party without true majority voter
support be allowed to seize command of Parliament and
impose law and policy on all Canadians?'

Why is it that you defend and perpetuate a system of
election and government which lacks the legitimacy conferred
by majority voter support?

What do you say to the nearly eight million orphan voters
in this country - more than half the active electorate,
many of whom support your own parties - who on October
14 will again cast votes which elect nobody to the House of
Commons? To Conservative voters who will elect hardly any
representatives in urban centres and to Liberal voters who
will elect no one in the prairie provinces?

Which of you on October 1 and 2 will say to the cameras
that before the next election you will bring in proportional
representation, making all Canadian voters equal citizens
with equal votes and equal representation in the House of
Commons, thus ending the need for fear and hate campaigns
designed to gain that slight advantage in the popular vote
that will result in a phony, underserved majority of seats
in Parliament?

Canadians would be delighted to hear you pledge that your
government will make this the last unfair and undemocratic
federal election. Any leader who makes that pledge would be
deserving of the votes from millions of currently orphaned
voters on October 14.

Yours for a democratic Canada,

Barbara Odenwald, President
Fair Vote Canada

www.Fairvote.ca and www.orphanvoters.ca

Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is a national multi-partisan citizens'
campaignto promote voting system reform. FVC was founded
in 2001 and has a National Advisory Board of distinguished
Canadians from all points on the political spectrum.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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I’m here in this very Canadian type of place cuz I was asked to give a little yak-yak to a group of like-minded folks. And this has given me a different geographic perspective from which to write.

I like the Prairies. The drives can be pretty boring – with cruise control a must on these long and flat highways. Simple curves in the road extend on an arc of 20 km or more. But man, IS THAT SKY EVER BIG!

But I love it and these spots remind my a lot of Parry Sound – without the bitterness toward city-folks and how they’re killing the countryside.

One thing that I noticed during the 2 hour drive between Regina and Yorkton was the near complete absence of election signs. Aside from the odd Green Party sign in a field or two, I didn’t see much more than a blue and white sheet of cardboard spaced several kms apart.

What gives? Are the fine denizens of this fine province simply not “in” to this election? That would be intriguing since pundits predict that the ReformCons could sweep the province – and taking good ol’ Ralph Goodale with the tide.

So, just in case a few westerners read these scribblings, I’d like to point out a number of other reasons to vote for anyone but Harper; this time focusing on the management of information and the Politics of Cynicism.

Thanks to Myriam who posted some of these on the Facebook site dedicated to spreading the word about the Lies That Harper Has Told Us.

• Media relations: There are strict controls over who can attend news conferences and what topics they can breach. The Prime Minister’s Office registers the reporters and then approve which ones ask which questions. There was an incident where the reporters all stood up and walked out. This is not transparent! This is a Soviet style control over the press.
• Gagging his MPs: Everyone knows that Stevo keeps his MPs on a tight leash. This is so that they don’t say anything that would be controversial or embarrassing to him. Unfortunately for SH, elections are a time where the candidates are not within leash length and say and do things that may not be Steve-approved. Witness the tasteless remarks made by the Agriculture Minister! Stevo gags them when has can because he knows that the bulk of his caucus consists of folks with the IQs of a carrot!
• Secret media centre: This Conservative operated media centre was meant to be used to film and cover events and then ship that information to the media as pre-packaged items. It didn’t happen because the media found out about it beforehand and made a big stink. Can you imagine what this would mean if it had came to fruition? The message would have been even more micro-managed than it already is!
• Lies about the income trust: During the last election campaign, the RefromCons promised that they will NOT touch the laws regarding the income trust funds. This was part of their election campaign, and many people who had money in income trust fund investments were pleased by this and wanted to stick with it. Seniors were especially keen on have his source of income untouched. Then, a flip-flop most cynical occurs and these trusts are, you guessed it, taxed at a high rate. I hope seniors are remembering this and voice their displeasure at the ballot box.

I have noticed that the Blue signs were out the next day after the announcement of the election and it took a while for the other parties to catch up. Let’s be frank. He doesn’t leave much time before the election and leaves all the unsuspecting suckers to finish off their party platforms while he’s already up and running. UNETHICAL!!!

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Get the word out – it is not too late to turn this election around and avoid a Harper majority!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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I don’t know about you, but I think attack ads used in political campaigns are not only despicable and cater to the whims of the lowest common denominators, but totally remove any semblance of honest and constructive debate from a political battle.

The penultimate attack ad is this one – shot at the height of the Goldwater / Johnson campaign in 1964.

A little while back, the McCain camp put out this ad, implying that Obama is more celebrity than substance and that being popular in the public eye doesn’t necessarily mean that you are ready to lead the country.

Note the clip of a certain Paris Hilton? Well, Paris put together her own clip as a retort to John McCain. I must say, my opinion of Ms. Hilton has multiplied a thousandfold upon seeing this!

Of course, our own little Stevie Harper, being an admirer of all things negative, cynical and especially American, hires his own team to sic his attack ad dawgs on anything and anyone that disagrees with the Conservative dogma.

All told, these ads, while they do make for some good chuckles, deflect attention away from real policy debates. Stephen Harper wants to debate the environment? well, put something on the table to talk about it and then talk about it! Demeaning an opponent’s argument by attacking the debater is a debating no-no and such attacks are called ad hominem – meaning that the attack is against the person rather than the argument or point. This implies, of course, that the person making the counter-point has no or little basis to pull apart his adversary’s point.

Alas, the Harperites are flush with cash and we can expect more of these inane ads as we gear up for what likely will be a fall election in this country.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

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