SpankyMcFarland

This is just a dreadfully amateurish way to negotiate and I would say that if anybody did it. Witkoff is grotesquely unfit for this role. As should be clear to anybody reading these pages, I am concerned for Ukraine’s liberty. That is what concerns me here. If Trump secures that I will praise him.

Have I cherry-picked that a real estate developer has been sent to negotiate with the Russians with no effective input from Ukraine? Of course, I hope that sanity will prevail and people like Rubio will object but these outrageous Russian proposals should never have been discussed as a compromise in the first place. Let the Russians put them forward if they want to but don’t float them as something both sides can agree on. The mere suggestion of an agreement anything like this strengthens Putin’s hand in Russia and quietens his many enemies within and beyond the regime there.

Putin’s get out of jail card remains Trump, now desperate for stories at home and abroad to distract from the Epstein scandal. His most recent ‘peace proposal’ could have been written entirely in Moscow. It was preposterous to have sent a house builder like Witkoff to negotiate for the West. https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/politics/trump-ukraine-peace-gaza-witkoff

You’re comparing Pierre Trudeau to Hitler now? Time for you to take your pills.

He’s a thug and a pig. Most women realize that instantly.

The opposition parties saw sense. A lot of voters would have been annoyed by being forced into another election, especially in the middle of winter.

If we get into a recession Carney could be under attack from a resurgent NDP on the left and PP on the right. He has moved the party towards the right and has left space on the left for the NDP to fill. Somebody like McPherson could revive the party and eat into his left-wing support. Trump will probably be less of a factor which will hurt Carney as well.

There is some hope on the demand side. Fentanyl deaths are falling in young people. Psychedelics and cannabis seem to be preferred which are safer drugs. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5414476/fentanyl-gen-z-drug-overdose-deaths Alcohol seems less popular too, fortunately. What’s needed is a change in social norms like the ones around drunk driving and spousal abuse. Peer pressure is more powerful than any law in changing behaviour with drugs.

I wouldn’t be as pessimistic as that for the Tories. Lord knows what state the country will be in next year or the year after. There’s no floor on how low the economy might go in these strange times. One thing’s for sure - the honeymoon with Carney will be truly over. PP would have a much better chance of winning an election then IMO.

These people are not terrorists by any reasonable definition and attacking them like this encourages chaos and thuggery in the world which you of course applaud.

The punishment should fit the crime. I don't believe speeders should be burned at the stake despite the fact that they endanger lives. Does that mean I approve of speeding?

I don’t know one person who funds a regular terrorist organization but I know many Canadians who have freely funded these so-called terrorists. Stop and think what would happen if every country started arbitrarily calling criminals terrorists and bombing them in foreign countries. Should Western European countries bomb Dubai because drug king-pins live there?

We are talking about the cocaine business here, yes? I presume not marijuana. AFAIK Venezuela is not a significant source of fentanyl and provides a small proportion of America’s cocaine market. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/12/us-venezuela-trump-maduro-drugs-regime-change We need to reflect on the precedent these attacks set. Would the US president be justified in bombing criminals in Canada, for example, if the whim took him? -us.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

FYI I’m not claiming it’s a solution in itself, obviously. I don’t think anybody would claim it’s a simple cause and effect relationship. For example, better child care provision could be caused in part by declining birth rates as a response to that.

Do you really believe that? Declining birth rates are a global phenomenon. One measure won’t change that.

Poilievre is well aware of nuances in language which is why this answer surprised me. When asked whether all his MPs would vote against the budget, instead of a simple “yes” he replied that they all opposed the budget which is not exactly the same thing. One could oppose the budget and not turn up, for example. The chat in Ottawa seems to be that Liberal and BQ MPs are the least uneasy about another election if it comes to that.

Even House Republicans are angry about eight senators voting to give themselves at least a million each. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/11/12/congress/next-steps-on-data-collection-00650193

You have no evidence. Does my second paragraph above sound like I heartily endorse this practice?

At least get your insults correct. You’re wildly generalizing about Atlantic Canadians there, not just Maritimers. Not true.

This is part of how our system works. We elect MPs, not parties, and how often do parties of any stripe refuse to take a floor-crosser in? With that said, I don’t think I’d have the stomach to do this unless there was a major matter of principle involved. You’ll be hated by one party and distrusted by another.

Yes, toss it out. Schumer is too old. The US Senate is mainly boomers for crying out loud and six are eighty plus! What do they know about the struggles of young people? They should have enough decency and self-awareness to cede their positions to younger candidates instead of grimly hanging on. The American version is a very powerful political body. Old people have their place as advisors but not at the very apex of decision-making. Most advanced democracies get that these days. Politicians should be in the prime of life. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/16/age-and-generation-in-the-119th-congress-somewhat-younger-with-fewer-boomers-and-more-gen-xers/

There’s no need for politicians over the age of seventy. Schumer is way past it. The US is like a developing country in this regard. They seem to take the etymology of the word Senate to heart too much. It should not be a council of elders.

The provision inserted into the spending bill to compensate senators whose phone records were examined in the Jan 6 investigation has provoked anger on both sides in the House. It could mean millions for each of these guys. Talk about conflict of interest! https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/house-republicans-slam-self-dealing-033041614.html Needless to say, Democrats aren’t too impressed either. https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-raskin-s-statement-on-corrupt-million-dollar-jackpot-provision-tucked-into-massive-gop-spending-bill-for-a-select-group-of-republican-senators

It’s a good sign, though. There is some sanity in the Republican Party after all.

Have you ever lived in Europe? Not everybody considers support for child care an awful imposition in their lives. If we want more children we have to make bringing them up less expensive.